The airline will fly three times a week through summer.
Video / Grant Bradley
Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific was one of the biggest overseas airlines in New Zealand before the pandemic. The restoration of direct flights to the South Island marks a milestone in the rebuild here as it aims to completely restore its global network by the end of next year.
Cathay Pacific’srestored service between Hong Kong and Christchurch could be worth up to $200 million to exporters.
The airline last flew to the South Island early in 2020 and has now restored a summer service, flying three times a week between Christchurch and Hong Kong.
Regional general manager Frosti Lau has worked in the freight business for a big chunk of his 24 years with the airline, which earns up to 30 per cent of its revenue from cargo some years. The A350-1000 has flown close to 35 tonnes of freight on some routes.
While the Christchurch flights on the 334-seat plane would provide new options for Kiwi passengers to fly to Hong Kong and beyond and open the country up to more tourists, moving primary produce was a big part of the equation.
Christchurch Airport chief executive Justin Watson said it was absolutely critical that high-value freight could be flown out of the South Island and into key markets. Last year, exports of goods from this country to Hong Kong totalled $1.3 billion, with the top exports being milk powder, infant formula and meat.
A business class cabin and seating on a Cathay Pacific Airbus A350-1000 aircraft.
The airline will fly three times a week into Christchurch and Lau said the airline would look to step that up if there was sufficient demand and as more aircraft and crew come back into Cathay, which was very badly hit during the pandemic as it had no domestic market.
It is also flying up to daily between Hong Kong and Auckland throughout the year and across its New Zealand operation was at 70 per cent of its pre-Covid capacity. This country was important to the airline and bringing more competition in was good for the consumer, Lau said.
“We have had Auckland service for some time already and Christchurch is the first seasonal service within our whole network. It really depends on demand as to how we adjust back - it’s all about market dynamics.”
There were encouraging signs before the Christchurch service was restored. It had planned to use a smaller A350-900 aircraft but decided to put on a larger A350-1000 aircraft in response to early demand. There was a mix of passengers coming into New Zealand from Europe, Hong Kong and China.
Changed immigration settings in Australia and New Zealand were opening up opportunities for skilled workers and students and that was good for airlines.
Its freight business helped the airline survive Covid and after several years of heavy losses is on track for a full-year profit.
Lau was in Christchurch for the arrival of its first flight yesterday.
He said restoring the network - now nearing 70 per cent of pre-Covid levels - meant rebuilding the team. More pilots were being recruited and trained in Hong Kong and China and cabin crew numbers were being restored.
The Christchurch service will provide more than 11,000 seats into the city and South Island and the service would be worth between $33m and $40m in tourism spending.
Cathay Pacific has flown to New Zealand for 40 years, at one point serving this country with the most capacity of any overseas carrier.
The first flight of the summer landed at 12.54pm on Saturday and the service will run until February 29 next year. The A350-1000 is fitted with 46 Business Class, 32 Premium Economy Class and 256 Economy Class seats.
Flights will depart Christchurch on Monday, Thursday and Saturday, arriving in Hong Kong the same night.
The first seasonal service into Christchurch began in December 2017.
When the service to Christchurch operated before the pandemic, more than 64,000 passengers flew on 275 flights.
Visitor arrivals by Hong Kong residents to New Zealand increased 22 per cent following the launch of the Christchurch service in 2017. They peaked at 58,763 in 2018.
Visitor arrivals by Hong Kong residents to New Zealand increased 22 per cent following the launch of the Christchurch service in 2017.
Visitor arrivals peaked at 58,763 in 2018.
Christchurch Airport figures show that numbers are recovering.
Overall tourism data from the airport shows that 51 per cent of visitor nights are spent in the South Island but only 22 per cent of visitors enter the country through South Island gateways.
Grant Bradley has been working at the Herald since 1993. He is the Business Herald’s deputy editor and covers aviation and tourism.
