CATHAY PACIFIC OFFERS WORLD'S FIRST COMPREHENSIVE ONLINE CHECK-IN

Cathay Pacific Airways today announced the launch of the world's first comprehensive Online Check-In service allowing passengers to check in for flights via the Internet before heading to the airport. The new Online Check-In service allows passengers to save valuable minutes before departure and gives them the added confidence of knowing their confirmed seat number up to 48 hours before departure.

Passengers can request window or aisle seats, just as they would at the airport. They can check-in anywhere they have a connection to the Internet - from home, or office, or even an Internet café. Boarding passes are collectable on arrival from dedicated counters at Hong Kong International Airport, and at most of Cathay Pacific's international destinations. The service is initially available for all Asia Miles and Marco Polo Club members and their traveling companions.

As an added bonus, passengers who check-in for flights before 15 March via the Website - www.cathaypacific.com - will receive an extra 1,000 Asia Miles.

Cathay Pacific Director Service Delivery Robert Cutler was the first passenger to try the new service as he checked in on a flight to Japan from the comfort of his home. The whole process from log-in to log-out took him less than a minute.

He said: "This new service will be extremely useful for our passengers and will save them crucial time at the airport and give them the certainty of a confirmed seat. It is yet another e-Business first for Cathay Pacific. It is probably also the first time a new service has been launched by a company director still wearing his pyjamas!"

Although some airlines already offer limited Internet check-in services, Cathay Pacific is the world's first airline to offer the general public an online check-in service on almost all outbound and inbound international routes. The airline has opened dedicated boarding pass collection counters at all but 10 of its destinations.

The Online Check-In service can be used up to 90 minutes before flight departure, and boarding passes must be collected at least 60 minutes before departure. Passengers can also check-in luggage when collecting the boarding pass.

Online Check-In is just part of the suite of new services that help make Cathay Pacific Asia's leading e-Business airline. One of the travel tools, notiFLY Flight Paging, allows passengers to enter flight details via the Website and get a reminder via email - and in Hong Kong and Taiwan, also a mobile phone text message - to confirm that flight's timing. notiFLY can also warn if the flight is early, or delayed by more than 30 minutes.