Cathay Pacific to Launch Chicago and Abu Dhabi Flights

Cathay Pacific is expanding its international network with plans to add two new routes in 2011 - a four-times-weekly service to Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), commencing 2 June, and a daily flight to Chicago in the United States, which launches on 1 September.

The Chicago service, which will be operated by a Boeing 777-300ER, will boost the airline’s presence in North America and provide passengers with increased connectivity between the Midwestern United States and Hong Kong and the rest of Asia. Given the demand for travel to other US cities via Chicago, Cathay Pacific intends to launch codeshare services from its new gateway with oneworld alliance partner American Airlines.

The Abu Dhabi service will be operated by an Airbus A330-300 aircraft with departures to and from Hong Kong on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Cathay Pacific has been serving the United Arab Emirates market for more than 30 years and currently offers a double-daily operation to and from Dubai.

Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Tony Tyler said, “We are extremely excited about being able to expand our network in 2011 with new services to Chicago and Abu Dhabi. We already have a significant presence in both the United States and the Middle East, and these new destinations will help to meet demand for both business and leisure travel to and from Hong Kong. The continued expansion of our network highlights our commitment to boosting our home city’s role as one of the world’s great international aviation hubs.”

With the launch of these two new services, Cathay Pacific will serve a total of 50 online passenger destinations.

In addition to launching new destinations, Cathay Pacific will also strengthen services to two key destinations in North America – New York and Toronto. The former will get three more flights a week from 27 March to 1 May 2011, making a total of 24 flights a week, and from 2 May will become a four-times-daily service. Toronto, meanwhile, will have two more flights a week added from 1 May, turning it into a double-daily service.

All new flights will be open for sale on 9 December 2010.

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