Qantas cuts passenger capacity on Hong Kong flights as airlines, including Cathay Pacific, reel from impact of protests
- Australian flag carrier to use smaller aircraft, with visitors to city via the route down 10 per cent
- Qantas forced into industry’s first capacity changes over Hong Kong unrest, as Cathay makes revenue warning
Australian flag carrier Qantas has revealed it will cut its passenger capacity for Hong Kong by using smaller planes, a day after Cathay Pacific Airways warned of a “significant impact” on revenue, as airlines feel the squeeze from anti-government demonstrations.
Qantas was the first to take action to manage the impact of protests on its business when it announced on Thursday it would downsize the aircraft it flies to the city, reducing seat availability by 7 per cent.
Bosses said during the Sydney-based company’s annual results event that the measures were taken in response to 10 per cent fewer people travelling with them to Hong Kong, and will take effect next month.
The warning signs over the protests fallout are becoming more critical for airlines and hoteliers, as data indicates fewer visitors are coming to Hong Kong, piling pressure on the travel and tourism sector.
“The Hong Kong market has taken a hit and we’ve seen volumes down in the immediate future by 10 per cent and that’s people not travelling to Hong Kong,” Alan Joyce, the CEO of the Qantas Group, told journalists.
Singapore is expected to be a beneficiary of the Hong Kong downturn as Qantas said it would fly its larger Airbus A330 planes to the city state instead, as well as Manila.