With Cathay Pacific's airfreight business being seriously impacted by the global financial crisis and several of the world's major economies heading into recession, in January 2009 the airline will park two Boeing 747-400BCF freighters at Victorville, California for a period of one year.
Whilst there will be no significant changes to regional scheduled freighter schedules, there will be some frequency reductions to Australia, North America and Europe.
The airline will receive four more new Boeing 747-400 Extended Range Freighters in 2009, although the delivery of its new Boeing 747-8Fs will now only begin in 2010.
Cathay has submitted a request to the Airport Authority to defer construction of the new Cathay Pacific Cargo Terminal at Hong Kong International Airport by up to two years, in a move to keep capacity expansion in line with market growth, and to reduce its capital expenditure in 2009 and 2010.
Preliminary work has already begun on the HK$4.8 billion facility, which was originally scheduled to begin operation in the second half of 2011. Despite the requested deferral, Cathay Pacific remains committed to building the terminal.
Other measures include cutting back on planned passenger capacity growth in 2009, and offering cabin crew and cockpit crew the opportunity to take voluntary unpaid leave of up to twelve months.
Cathay Pacific chief executive Tony Tyler said: "This is a very difficult time for our airline and for the aviation industry as a whole, and we cannot see light at the end of the tunnel at this point."
He added that the airline's long-term financial health is the number one priority, and while it will try to keep its network intact and its team together, the plan is not written in stone and may well have to be revised depending on how things unfold.
"Visibility is low and it's hard to predict developments with any real certainty. Flexibility will be the key word in the months ahead," he concluded.
