Passengers queue up to receive their boarding passes at Cathay Pacific check-in counters at the Hong Kong International Airport on Aug 2, 2023. (SHAMIM ASHRAF / CHINA DAILY)

HONG KONG – Cathay Pacific Airways aims to recruit about 4,000 people across the group this year, marking a 20 percent year-on-year increase in its overall workforce, as its flight capacity gradually returns to pre-pandemic levels. 

“Nearly 2,000 former employees have been successfully invited back to the group,” Chief Financial Officer Rebecca Sharpe said at an analyst briefing held on Friday. 

Earlier, the Hong Kong flag carrier said it plans to increase its workforce by a further 5,000 people in 2024. 

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Sharpe said this year’s employee training activities have doubled compared to last year, equating to pre-pandemic levels. “The volume of training will double again next year, including the efficient use of evenings and weekends, to ensure the quality of employees and meet staffing needs.”

In the first half of this year, Cathay Pacific made a profit of about HK$4.27 billion ($551 million), turning a year-on-year loss into profit

As of June, Cathay Pacific’s workforce stood at 21,900, a sharp contrast to the 34,200-plus employees it had at the close of 2019.

Sharpe highlighted the decrease in the number of aircraft parked overseas, falling from 25 to 13. The coming months will see continued efforts to return these aircraft to Hong Kong and reintegrate them into service, she said. 

“By December 2023, we anticipate operating approximately 70 percent of our pre-pandemic passenger flights, servicing around 80 destinations. For cargo, we expect to function at about 85 percent of our prior capacity,” Sharpe said. 

Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Lavinia Lau Hoi-zee said as the group’s flights increase, ticket prices will gradually normalize. “Airfares will be determined by supply and demand,” she said, adding that inflation’s effect on operating costs will continue to be reflected in ticket prices.

Lau said Cathay Pacific will continue to remain competitive in its pricing strategy. 

In the first half of this year, Cathay Pacific made a profit of about HK$4.27 billion ($551 million), turning a year-on-year loss into profit. 

The group expects that its second-half profit in 2023 will surpass the result from the first half. It is expected to achieve a consolidated profit for the year overall, making it the first profitable year since 2019, according to a statement published on its official website on Thursday.

Cathay Pacific carried a total of 1,684,700 passengers in October, representing a 61 percent increase compared to the same period in 2019. 

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The number of passengers carried for the first 10 months of this year reached 14.57 million, equivalent 49 percent of the same period in 2019.

October saw a 13.7 percent year-over-year increase in cargo volume, reaching a total of 124,400 metric tons. This surge was driven by year-end sale activities, such as “Singles Day” and “Black Friday”. Cathay Pacific has anticipated a rise in the demand for fresh goods transported from regions including Southeast Asia, the Americas, and Japan to destinations into Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland. 

Despite this uptick, the overall cargo load factor experienced an 8.3 percentage point drop from the previous year, settling at 60.7 percent.

Contact the writer at tianyuanzhang@chinadailyhk.com