Cathay Pacific cuts flights by more than a third

Cathay Pacific Airways this morning announced that it will temporarily cut scheduled passenger services by more than one-third in an effort it says to contain the financial impact caused by atypical pneumonia and the war in Iraq.

This is the third round of cuts that the airline has been forced to make since 31 March 2003 in response to a steep fall in passenger traffic and bookings  across the airline's network.

In all, 19 destinations have been affected and 184 weekly services cut - or 37 percent of the airline's normal weekly schedule. Regional services bore  the brunt of previously announced cuts but now a larger number of long-haul flights are involved as well.

The cities to which services have been reduced are: Amsterdam, Bangkok, Denpasar, Frankfurt, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, London, Los Angeles, Manila,  Melbourne, Nagoya, Osaka, Paris, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Taipei, Tokyo and Vancouver.

Most changes have already taken effect and others will be introduced through April.

Cathay Pacific Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive David Turnbull said: "Cathay Pacific is being badly affected by the fall in passenger demand and we must therefore take action to conserve cash and minimise spending.  With lingering uncertainty in the Middle East and the profound impact that fear of atypical pneumonia has had globally, we do not know how long the current weakness in travel demand will continue. It is therefore not possible, at this stage, to quantify the potential impact on the company."

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