A pilots’ union said on Thursday that Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. is facing staffing and training shortages that have never been seen before. This will keep airfares high and make it harder for Hong Kong to return to its role as a global aviation hub.
The Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association (HKAOA) said that because a record number of the company’s most experienced pilots quit, the airline is not ready to fully resume operations and is not meeting rising demand.
“Cathay Pacific is facing staffing and training shortages that have never been seen before,” it said in a statement that predicted airfares would go up because there aren’t enough workers and there is a lot of demand.
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Cathay said it would hire 4,000 more people over the next 18 to 24 months as travel picks up. When asked for a comment on Thursday, the company did not respond right away.
After crew quarantine rules were loosened, the airline said last month that it expected to reach a third of its passenger capacity before the pandemic by the end of the year. This was more than I had anticipated.
Singapore Airlines (OTC: SINGY) Ltd., which is a competitor, expects to reach 81% of its 2019 capacity by then.
Cathay said that adding capacity was a slow process because it required a lot of crew training and getting planes that had been put away back into service.
After cutting thousands of jobs during the pandemic, the company had 20,800 employees around the world on June 30, down from 34,200 at the end of 2019.
At a webinar on Wednesday, John Grant, the chief analyst at travel data company OAG, said that because Hong Kong is close to mainland China, it is likely that it will eventually get back to being a global aviation hub, but it won’t happen quickly.
OAG data showed that this week’s capacity at Hong Kong Airport is 81% below what it will be in 2019. This compares to a drop of 38% in Singapore and a drop of 22% in Sydney.
After more than two years of tough quarantine rules and permanent pay cuts of up to 58%, Cathay’s pilot turnover has been higher than usual.
Before Tuesday, when COVID-19 restrictions were eased in the world’s financial centre, Cathay crew on layovers abroad had to stay in their hotel rooms.
Related: Cathay Pacific’s cash-burn target has been lowered in half as Hong Kong relaxes regulations.
They still have to wear masks on layovers, except when they eat or drink, and they can’t go to bars or other places with a lot of people.
