Cathay can fly high again once it restores a sense of family

Expats arriving in Hong Kong for short-term work assignments or other temporary purposes tend to go through an interesting process if their stay becomes longer than originally intended. Gradually, their country of origin becomes “over there” and Hong Kong becomes home.

Cathay took a more pessimistic view. It suspended operations completely on some routes, and even those which were kept open substantially reduced frequency. Ticket prices increased as overheads had to be covered by a smaller number of passengers. But the main impact was on staff: large numbers of pilots and cabin crew were laid off and others quit as working conditions became less attractive.

As the world largely returned to normal and air travel opened up again, demand for qualified personnel rose. Because Hong Kong maintained controls for longer than other places, its recovery efforts were also delayed and other airlines had a head start over Cathay in recruitment.

Based on what he said in the speech and in casual conversation, I am optimistic Cathay can restore its worldwide network in terms of routes, frequencies and staff numbers on schedule by the first quarter of 2025, and that ticket prices will start to come down.

I have a lingering concern about the staff issue but related more to morale than numbers. When I first arrived in 1972, I thought of England as home. But soon, the process of going home began at Heathrow and when I saw the sign “CX252 Hong Kong” at the Cathay check-in counter.

This feeling became even stronger as the years passed. Between 2000 and 2008, I travelled extensively on Cathay in my capacity as first director general of investment promotion. A normal week in North America or Europe would begin with a flight to the first city at the