Hong Kong flag carrier Cathay Pacific Airways will step up diversification efforts to mitigate growing geopolitical risks that have “affected our business a lot”, its CEO has said, as the airline expands the group’s network to 103 destinations by the end of this year.
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During a visit to a pilot training centre in Adelaide, Australia, Cathay Group CEO Ronald Lam Siu-por said the group also took a flexible approach to accommodating customers’ requests, such as ticket cancellations, in response to an escalating dispute between Beijing and Tokyo and unstable China-US relations.
“Geopolitical risks affected our business a lot because we are an international airline that flies to more than 100 destinations. And the way to tackle that is to diversify our business,” said Lam, who took Cathay’s recently launched direct flight to Adelaide.
“Through diversification, we are more resilient than ever before.”
He said the group was pushing further diversification of its businesses, including premium carrier Cathay Pacific, budget unit HK Express, cargo freight and its lifestyle offerings.
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Captain Chris Kempis, Cathay’s director of flight operations, said geopolitics was also a factor prompting the group to expand pilot training beyond Adelaide into Arizona in the United States.