CATHAY Pacific celebrated its 10th year at Manchester Airport by pledging to make the service to Hong Kong a non-stop flight in the next two years.
Daily flights currently stop in Amsterdam or Paris, a factor which can deter passengers, especially high-yield business, from booking flights.
Country manager UK and Ireland Adrian Gane said the airline was looking to cut out the European stop within 18 months.
He said the airline would need new aircraft first so it could replace the large Boeing 747s with smaller, more economical B777s or Airbus A340s from Manchester. This would make a non-stop service more viable as the current flight relies on half its traffic from Amsterdam and Paris.
Meanwhile, Gane said premium UK business for Cathay was up this summer after disappointing loads for two years .
He said: “July and August were about 20% up. First-class bookings have bounced back.”
Gane said Cathay’s decision to market the airline as an option for flying to Australia when Asian traffic tailed off was paying dividends.
He said the investment in new economy and first-class products was also improving bookings. All UK flights will have sleeper-style seats in first class and personal videos in economy by the end of the year.
The airline will unveil a new business class next year.