Hongkongers can expect lower airfares this year as flag carrier Cathay Pacific predicts flight supply to return to ‘normal’

City’s flag carrier made upbeat forecast about cheaper airfares amid pressure from lawmakers after it posted HK$9.78 billion net profit last year

Cathay’s Erica Peng acknowledges airfares were elevated because of unbalanced supply of flights after international travel resumed in 2023

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A Cathay Pacific counter at Hong Kong International Airport. The flag carrier posted HK$9.78 billion net profit last year. Photo: Eugene Lee

Published: 7:24pm, 22 Mar 2024Updated: 10:44am, 23 Mar 2024

Corrected [10:44am, 23 Mar, 2024]

[10:44am, 23 Mar, 2024]
This article has been updated to correct the title of Cathay's Erica Peng. She is the company's director for customer travel, not the general manager for planning.

Hongkongers can expect lower airfares this year, with local flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways predicting prices will return to normal as the supply of flights increases.

The airline made the upbeat forecast about cheaper airfares amid rising calls from lawmakers for the company to reduce ticket prices, after it had posted a HK$9.78 billion (US$1.2 billion) net profit last year.

Appearing before the Legislative Council’s economic development panel on Friday, Cathay’s company’s director for customer travel, Erica Peng, acknowledged the city’s airfares had been elevated due to the unbalanced supply of flights after international travel resumed last year.

Peng added that airfares were likely to “normalise” in the coming year as an increase in the supply of flights would reduce the shortfall, although she did not confirm if the carrier would cut prices.

“Along with the improvement in the supply of capacity, Hong Kong’s airfares have started to normalise,” she said.

“We’ll work hard to increase capacity and we expect our ticket prices will be back to normal in the coming year.”