Cathay Pacific has introduced non-stop services from Hong Kong to Melbourne and Brisbane, will all services to Cairns and Adelaide to now fly direct as the carrier strives to improve service for its Australian passengers.
The changes, effective from March 30, come after 40 years of flying to Australia and 20 years of flying to Adelaide and Cairns specifically, general manager Southwest Pacific, Dominic Perret, commented.
“Until now some of these flights have been shared between two cities – many Adelaide flights, for example, also stopped in Melbourne to pick up or drop off passengers,” he said.
“However we know many passengers, particularly business travellers, prefer to fly point-to-point with the shortest possible connection time.”
The new non-stop Melbourne services will operate three times daily, while Brisbane direct services will be daily. All Hong Kong-Adelaide and Hong Kong-Cairns will become non-stop taking the total number of flights per week from 70 to 74. Overall, the new schedule sees a 6% increase in the number of seats for sale from Australia.
The move also aims to take greater advantage of the growing inbound Chinese market, Perret revealed.
“We are already well positioned to serve the inbound and outbound Chinese market,” he said. “Our network, together with our sister airline Dragonair, currently serves 22 cities on the mainland with hundreds of flights each week to Hong Kong and onto the six major cities in Australia.”
The direct flights will be operated by Airbus A330-300 aircraft in a three-class configuration.
