The past few months have been turmoil for Hong Kong, and protesters and police have continually been at ends. Ultimately this has created an unfavourable impression on Hong Kong’s economy, and people have selected not to travel to Hong Kong due to the state it’s in.
The divisive state of our community has resulted in a negative general impression on Hong Kong’s safety, and as a result this has caused detriment to the inbound travel industry. This has definitely caused Cathay Pacific to struggle over the past few months.
Cathay Pacific Boeing 777 Hong Kong Airport
Well the first major blow has hit, and Cathay Pacific has axed some routes.
Cathay Pacific has announced the flights/routes that they will be cutting:
Cathay Pacific:
Hong Kong to Dublin will be cut after October 27 (CX 301/306) and will only operate during the summer months next year
Hong Kong to Paris’ daytime flight will be cut after October 27 (CX 279/278)
Hong Kong to Frankfurt’s daytime flight will be cut as well (CX 283/282)
CX 846/845 from Hong Kong to New York cut from 7x to 4x weekly
Hong Kong to Vancouver’s A350 flight cut (CX 856/859)
Hong Kong to Washington Dulles flight reduced from 5x to 4x weekly
Cathay Dragon:
Hong Kong to Beijing’s late-night flight will be cut (KA 996) as well as Beijing to Hong Kong’s late-night flight (KA 975)
Hong Kong to Medan cut (KA 359/358) from October 6 to March 20, 2020
Hong Kong to Tokyo Haneda cut (KA 396/397)
While some destinations were seasonally cut and others had their frequencies reduced, Cathay Dragon’s Tokyo Haneda flight was cut cold-turkey, leaving Cathay’s two daily flights as the only two still operating
Bottom Line
The two destinations cut for now are Dublin and Medan, and reservations for these destinations have only been closed for the winter. Meanwhile, Cathay Dragon won’t fly to Tokyo Haneda anymore (not that their redeye recliner flight/6:35 AM return flight was too appealing, but still…)
While the cuts right now are gentle, Cathay Pacific is facing quite a tough winter ahead, as the protests show no signs of stopping. Here’s to hoping we soon see some light at the end of the tunnel…
Are you affected by any of these route cuts?