Cathay Pacific 2015 Annual Report Download - page 6

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Cathay Pacific Airways Limited
4
In 2015, Cathay Pacific introduced passenger services to
Zurich (in March), to Boston (in May) and to Düsseldorf (in
September).They have been well received. Cathay Pacific
will introduce passenger services to Madrid in June 2016
and to London’s Gatwick airport in September 2016.
Dragonair introduced passenger services to Haneda in
Tokyo (in March 2015) and to Hiroshima (in August 2015).
Frequencies on some other routes were increased. Cathay
Pacific passenger services to Moscow and Doha and the
Dragonair passenger service to Manila were discontinued.
Cathay Pacific introduced a freighter service to Kolkata in
March 2015 and increased freighter frequencies to North
America and India. We adjusted our freighter network and
capacity in line with demand.
In 2015, we took delivery of six Boeing 777-300ER aircraft
and three Airbus A330-300 aircraft. The Boeing 777-300ER
delivered in September 2015 was the 53rd and final aircraft
of this type to join our fleet. Four Boeing 747-400 passenger
aircraft and four Airbus A340-300 aircraft were retired in
2015. One Airbus A340-300 aircraft was retired in February
2016 and we have brought forward the retirement of our
remaining three Boeing 747-400 passenger aircraft from
2017 to 2016. In 2013, we agreed to sell six Boeing 747-
400F freighters to The Boeing Company. Two of these
freighters have been delivered. The remaining four will be
delivered by the end of 2016. At 31st December 2015, we
had 70 new aircraft on order for delivery up to 2024. Our first
Airbus A350-900XWB aircraft is scheduled to be delivered
in May 2016. 12 of these aircraft are scheduled to be
delivered in 2016. We took delivery of the first of two Airbus
A350 simulators in May 2015.
We continue to invest heavily in our products and brands.
Cathay Pacific’s new livery was introduced in November
2015. Except for Boeing 747-400 and Airbus A340-300
passenger aircraft that are being retired, all Cathay Pacific
and Dragonair wide-bodied passenger aircraft have been
fitted or refitted with new or refreshed seats in all classes.
Our new Airbus A350XWB aircraft will have new cabins,
seats and entertainment systems. The first class lounge
at The Pier at Hong Kong International Airport reopened
in June 2015. We opened lounges in Manila in May,
Bangkok in June, San Francisco in October and Taipei
in November 2015.
Chairman’s Letter
Prospects
The operating environment was better in 2015 than in 2014,
but we faced some significant challenges, which we expect
to continue in 2016. Strong competition from other airlines
in the region, foreign currency movements and weak
premium class passenger demand will put pressure on
passenger yield. Cargo demand will be adversely affected
by industry overcapacity. Overall passenger demand
remains strong and we expect to continue to benefit from
low fuel prices. Our subsidiaries and associates are
expected to continue to perform well.
We are confident of longer-term success, and we will
continue to help our passengers to travel well. In January
2016, we announced that Dragonair is to be rebranded as
Cathay Dragon, as part of an effort to create a more
consistent travel experience between the two airlines. We
will continue to invest in aircraft, in our products and in the
development of our network. Our financial position is
strong. Supported by our world-class team, we remain
deeply committed to strengthening the aviation hub in
Hong Kong, our home city for the past 70 years.
John Slosar
Chairman
Hong Kong, 9th March 2016