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Cathay turns attention to product promotions


would be selected promotions with new fare offers and stopover deals to Hong Kong.



He said: “We will be concentrating on the front end of the market with our Marco Polo members and other passengers.



“The new first-class product is coming through and we will rack up the advertising during the summer.”



The airline is taking unrestricted bookings again after it reached a settlement with pilots. The agreement will save Cathay $1.4bn over 10 years.



Gane was unable to say how much Cathay lost when it was forced to cancel 17 flights from Heathrow and Manchester earlier this month.



The cancellations were due to pilots calling in sick as part of a year-long campaign for a better pay offer.



Gane said forward bookings for the next two months were good, but he admitted agents had struggled to find space during the pay dispute as the airline had amalgamated some flights. Some passengers were transferred to Cathay’s Oneworld partner British Airways.



The new first-class seat converts to a bed and will be available on all Heathrow flights by July or early August. Gane assured agents it would be installed by the peak season.



Cathay is currently working on new business-class seats. New economy seating, with seat-back videos, is already on board Boeing 747-400s.



The attempt to boost yields with fare packages and stopover deals comes as Cathay seeks to turn around its fortunes after reporting its first annual loss in 35 years (Travel Weekly March 22).



CATHAYPacific is launching business and first- class promotions to claw back revenue lost during recent flight cancellations.



Deals for frequent flyers will focus on a new first-class product currently being installed in aircraft operating Heathrow-Hong Kong flights.



Country manager UK and Ireland Adrian Gane said there would be selected promotions with new fare offers and stopover deals to Hong Kong.



He said: “We will be concentrating on the front end of the market with our Marco Polo members and other passengers.



“The new first-class product is coming through and we will rack up the advertising during the summer.”



The airline is taking unrestricted bookings again after it reached a settlement with pilots. The agreement will save Cathay $1.4bn over 10 years.



Gane was unable to say how much Cathay lost when it was forced to cancel 17 flights from Heathrow and Manchester earlier this month.



The cancellations were due to pilots calling in sick as part of a year-long campaign for a better pay offer.



Gane said forward bookings for the next two months were good, but he admitted agents had struggled to find space during the pay dispute as the airline had amalgamated some flights. Some passengers were transferred to Cathay’s Oneworld partner British Airways.



The new first-class seat converts to a bed and will be available on all Heathrow flights by July or early August. Gane assured agents it would be installed by the peak season.



Cathay is currently working on new business-class seats. New economy seating, with seat-back videos, is already on board Boeing 747-400s.



The attempt to boost yields with fare packages and stopover deals comes as Cathay seeks to turn around its fortunes after reporting its first annual loss in 35 years (Travel Weekly March 22).


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