CATHAY PACIFIC TO LAUNCH THREE NEW CARGO DESTINATIONS

Cathay Pacific Airways today announced the launch of three new freighter destinations, namely New Delhi in India, Penang in Malaysia, and San Francisco in the United States. The new freighter services will start in September this year and be operated using Cathay Pacific's Boeing 747 freighter aircraft. The new destinations increase the number of destinations served by Cathay Pacific's freighter aircraft to 19.

From 1 September 2000, Cathay Pacific will operate three flights a week between Hong Kong and New Delhi, one flight a week between Hong Kong and Penang, and two flights a week between Hong Kong and San Francisco. A second weekly flight to Penang will start from 23 September. Cathay Pacific already operates scheduled passenger services to Penang and San Francisco.

Cathay Pacific's General Manager Cargo Kenny Tang said: "We are delighted to add these three new destinations to our cargo network. The air cargo market out of Hong Kong has been growing very strongly over the last year and we see good potential in each of the three new cities we will be flying to from September."

Cargo represents an increasing proportion of Cathay Pacific's total business. During the first half of this year the airline's cargo services accounted for 28.6% of its total turnover, up from 27.3% in the same period in 1999. About half of cargo flown by Cathay Pacific is carried in its freighters and the remainder is carried in the bellies of its passenger aircraft.

In addition to launching three new cargo destinations, Cathay Pacific has responded to the strong growth in the cargo industry over the past year by placing orders for new freighter aircraft. The airline has orders outstanding for three Boeing 747-400 freighters for delivery in September 2000, April 2001, and August 2001. It continues to evaluate the need to purchase further freighter aircraft.

Cathay Pacific currently operates scheduled freighter services to 16 destinations worldwide, namely Chicago, Dubai, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Mumbai (Bombay), New York, Paris, Seoul, Sharjah, Sydney, Taipei, Tokyo, and Vancouver.

Cathay Pacific currently has a fleet of 65 aircraft in service. These include nine freighter aircraft, namely two Boeing 747-400 freighters, and seven Boeing 747-200 freighters. Three of the Boeing 747-200 freighters are operated by Cathay Pacific's cargo airline subsidiary Air Hong Kong.