Cathay Pacific Airways bounced back from its worst loss in history, posting a HK$4.69 billion net annual profit, following an HK$8.7 billion loss in 2008.
'We have seen a much better fundamental change in the demand over the past year,' said Christopher Pratt, chairman of Cathay.
Passenger traffic and prices for business class and first class, two major profit drivers for Cathay, had been trending upwards over the past four to five months. But passenger yields, or revenue per passenger per mile, had yet to return to the level in 2007, he said.
Disregarding the substantial rebound in premium traffic, Cathay management is contemplating a plan to insert an intermediate product between economy and business class, the so-called premium economy class, in the cabins across its network.
Pratt said the airline was trying to identify changes in passenger demand over the longer term. Demand had returned but had fundamentally changed, he said, adding that Cathay wanted to install premium economy seats as early as 2012.
Rival carriers Singapore Airlines, British Airways and Qantas Airways also have four class configurations.
