Cathay Pacific is adding new destinations to its schedule.
Barcelona and Sri Lanka have returned to Cathay Pacific's map as the airline continues to bring destinations back online following the pandemic.
The Barcelona service will begin in June and follows the successful reinstatement of Colombo to Cathay's schedule in February after a four year hiatus. The airline has also announced that it will be bringing back its first class service on New York flights from the end of this month.
After several years in apparent free-fall, Cathay published promising figures earlier this year, announcing a 541.5% increase in passenger numbers in 2023 compared with 2022. The Cathay Group, comprising Cathay Pacific and budget airline HK Express, flew more than 20 million passengers in 2023, compared with around three million in 2022.
Chief commercial officer Lavinia Lau said the airline had seen strong demand in December, traditionally a peak travel season, with Hong Kongers taking advantage of the Christmas holiday period. This was the first holiday season since before the pandemic that residents were able to travel completely free of restrictions. Lau noted that December had seen “overwhelming” demand for travel to short-haul leisure destinations, particularly Japan and Southeast Asia. Cathay’s seasonal service with Christchurch, New Zealand, also resumed in December, stimulating transit traffic to and from the United Kingdom.
From this month, Cathay Pacific will also be jazzing up its inflight menus as part of a collaboration with Hong Kong Michelin-starred restaurant Duddell’s. The new ‘Hong Kong Flavours’ menu is the second time the pair have worked together, following the launch of Cantonese-influenced menus by the airline in February last year.
In first class, passengers can tuck into a crystal pork terrine with black vinegar appetiser, followed by a selection of mains including sauteed abalone and chicken with Sichuan pepper and steamed cod fillets with Chinese ham and shiitake mushrooms.
Business customers can choose from Sichuan-style poached ‘saliva’ chicken with sesame and chilli sauce, braised pork ribs with hawthorn sauce and green apples and braised beef ribs cooked with port and tomato.
Hong Kong Flavours is available now in First and Business class on selected long-haul flights departing from Hong Kong.