Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific expands cargo business with order of 6 Airbus planes

The airline said on Friday it had placed an initial order with Airbus for six A350F freighters to meet future fleet requirements and also secured the right to acquire more aircraft. The new planes are scheduled to be delivered from 2027.

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The firm said the new order of highly fuel-efficient, next-generation freighters would help further strengthen Hong Kong’s status as the world’s air cargo hub, providing even greater cargo connectivity between Hong Kong, mainland China and the rest of the world.

“This order marks another major component in our investment for the future. It reflects Cathay’s confidence in the Hong Kong hub as we look ahead to the opportunities provided by the three-runway system,” said group CEO Ronald Lam.

“These highly fuel-efficient, next-generation freighters will provide important additional cargo capacity, expand our global network and contribute to our sustainability leadership goals,” he added.

Hong Kong was ranked the world’s busiest cargo hub in 2022, with a total of 4.2 million tonnes of goods handled that year.

Cathay said the new freighters would link Hong Kong and mainland China with long-haul destinations in North and South America as well as Europe. The purchase agreement brings the group’s new aircraft deliveries to 77.

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The group has a freighter fleet of 20 Boeing 747 freighters, including 14 B747-8Fs and six B747-400ERFs. In addition to freighter capacity, Cathay Cargo provides belly capacity through the group’s extensive passenger network of around 80 destinations worldwide.

The group’s order book includes 21 Boeing 777-9 widebody passenger aircraft scheduled to be delivered from 2025 and a total of 49 Airbus A320neo and A321neo aircraft expected to be delivered by 2029.

The airline announced in late July last year that it would bring back more than 100 or 70 per cent passenger planes parked in the desert surrounding the town of Alice Springs in Australia, where one-third of its fleet previously sat idle.