Cathay Pacific recently resumed its non-stop passenger service from Hyderabad to Hong Kong, operating thrice a week.This move marks a significant milestone in the airline’s expansion plans in India. According to Rakesh Raicar, Regional General Manager, South Asia, Middle East, and Africa, “India has been a strong market for Cathay Pacific, with an average load factor of 86-87% across all ports in India.”The airline operates 39 flights from India, with three flights a day from Delhi and 10 flights per week from Mumbai. Raicar highlighted the importance of Hyderabad as a market, stating, “Hyderabad is a vital addition when you look at it. Because Hyderabad has exactly the kind of traffic flow that will help us build our flights beyond Hong Kong into North America and so on.”In terms of the airline’s targets for the Hyderabad-Hong Kong route, Raicar identified leisure, VFR, corporate travellers, and student traffic as key segments. “Overall, that is the kind of mix that we are looking at,” he explained.Talking about inaugural offers and campaigns, Raicar revealed that the airline is running promotional fares to Hong Kong and North American routes. “We are currently running promotional fares to Hong Kong which is our home market and even to North American routes where we cater to in terms of whether it is Dallas, San Francisco, Los Angeles or so,” he stated.The airline is also focusing on providing competitive fares, promotional offers, and high-quality services to strengthen its presence in the Indian market. Raicar emphasised the importance of India as a market, saying, “India is big for us. We have always been stronger in India. We see that demand growing stronger as we go along.”Cathay Pacific is optimistic about its growth prospects in India, driven by the country’s growing demand for air travel and cargo services. With its commitment to providing high-quality services, including the premium economy class segment, the airline is looking to capitalize on the growing demand for air travel in India.To further elevate its offerings and enhance customer experience, the airline committed HK$100 billion in investments. The investment includes orders for more than 100 new aircraft (which will be delivered sometime in 2027) and other new products.Talking about the total cargo that is going out of the country, Raicar said, “130,000 metric tons was what we carried last year.” Asked if the figure is the same as in 2020, he said, “The demand is similar. What we are seeing is the same trend. And the good part is overall from an India perspective, the manufacturing is growing by the day. A classic example is how the mobile industry is growing and export capabilities are getting higher too.”Rajesh Menon, Regional Head of Cargo, South Asia, Middle East and Africa discussed the growth in demand for air cargo in South India, stating, “And what we are seeing is almost 25% increase down South itself.” He attributed this growth to the manufacturing industry, particularly the mobile and auto industries.Regarding hiring from India, Raicar said, “And to rebuild capacity at the pace that we want to build, you need to recruit a lot of pilots, you need to recruit a lot of crews. So what we have been doing is we have been going out and diversifying our reach into different markets to recruit pilots from the other parts of the world, including India from where we hired 700+ people.”Raicar also highlighted the importance of Hyderabad as a market for Cathay Pacific, stating, “Hyderabad has a huge diaspora of Indians based in North America, especially places like Dallas, Chicago and San Franciso. And we do serve those markets. From here all the way up to Dallas.” He added that the airline is starting a new route from Hong Kong to Dallas, which will add more supply to the market.In terms of the airline’s network connections, Raicar highlighted the importance of Hong Kong as a hub. “We are very strong when it comes to Chinese mainland. We are very strong when it comes to North East Asia. When I say North East Asia it is Japan and Korea. Because everything is in the same direction. We are extremely strong to North America. We have got multiple operations from Hong Kong which is an advantage for us.”Commenting on what sets them apart from the rest, he says, “We invest heavily in our products, with our economy class ranked as the world’s best. Our Aria suite has received excellent response and design awards. We focus on making service, network connections, in-flight products, and lounges our key differentiators.”On resuming Hyderabad operations after 5 years, Raicar signs off, saying, “We rebuilt our 100% capacity within two years and waited for the right moment to start Hyderabad, ensuring enough capacity for demand to North America, which will be further boosted by our new Dallas route starting April 25.”
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