To be or not to be' with the demonstrators. For the past week, Cathay Pacific has been in both economic and psychological turmoil. Economic first: the sit-in at the airport from Hong Kong from Friday to Sunday had already caused damage to Hong Kong's image, even though Cathay had operated all its flights at the time. But on Monday, the invasion of the airport by demonstrators opposed to Carrie Lam's government - Hong Kong's Chief Executive, selected by Beijing's leaders - resulted in the complete closure of the airport. On Tuesday, after announcing a return to normal, the airport authorities were taken by surprise in the afternoon by the return of the demonstrators. Several hundred flights were cancelled again... Cathay Pacific, for example, was forced to cancel its flights. suspend some 200 flights on Monday and Tuesday, with obvious economic repercussions.
But this is not the only problem facing the company. During the protests, a pilot and Cathay Pacific employees showed their support for the company. support for the movement. China's social networks went wild and Beijing intervened. Last week, the management of the Hong Kong carrier said it could not prevent its 27,000 employees from taking a stand for or against the movement, and that it respected their freedom of opinion. the Chinese government's rage. The company has dismissed the pilot and two of its employees and has been forced to provide the Chinese civil aviation authorities with a list of personnel flying to, from and via China for each of its frequencies. Beijing justifies the communication of this data for security reasons.
It seems that on Monday, a problem occurred on a flight from New York to Hong Kong, with the Chinese civil aviation authorities refusing to allow the plane to enter the Chinese airspace. in Chinese airspace. In principle, such an event would be more unlikely for flights to or from Europe, as Cathay's aircraft could pass a little further south, via Philippine or Vietnamese airspace.
Cathay Pacific had to plead its case in Beijing and was finally strictly banned, on pain of dismissalIt is following in the footsteps of its parent company, the Swire Group, which has announced its unconditional support for the Hong Kong government. In doing so, it is following in the footsteps of its parent company, the Swire group, which has announced its unconditional support for the Hong Kong government.
From Charybdis to Scylla...
The company has not much choice More than 50 % of its revenues are generated in mainland China and Hong Kong, while 20 % of all its flights are to Chinese cities. In addition, Cathay's shareholding is partly in the hands of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, a state-owned institution, which has already recommended that shareholders sell their shares, causing Cathay's stock market listing to plummet. The company is also facing calls for a boycott on social networks and in official Chinese newspapers.
With Cathay PacificChina is making it clear to Hong Kong business community which side they should be on. Cathay's capitulation will certainly protect the company from Beijing's wrath. But it is also likely to inflame the resentment of many Hong Kong residents and certain travellers, both local and foreign, who are uneasy about the company's about-turn.
The first alarm bells have just gone off from ForwardKeys, a consultancy that tracks the state of airline bookings around the world. In a previous analysis, ForwardKeys reported that bookings on long-haul markets were stable, but the firm now indicates that bookings are down 4.7 % between 16 June and 9 August. And this fall does not take into account the latest events at the airport...
On 16 August, the company also announced the departures of the Head of Customer and Commercial Affairs, Paul Loo, and, above all, of the Head of Sales and Marketing. Managing Director Rupert HoggThey have been replaced by Ronald Lam and Augustus Tang, one of Swire's senior executives.
Recent events have called into question Cathay Pacific's commitment to aviation safety and security and have put our reputation and brand under pressure.
On leaving office, Rupert Hogg spoke of " difficult weeks (...) for the airline" adding: " it's only right that Paul and I should take our responsibilities as company directors seriously. "
John Slosar, Chairman of the Board of Cathay Pacific, said: " Recent events have called into question Cathay Pacific's commitment to aviation safety and security and have put our reputation and brand under pressure. This is unfortunate as we have always made safety and security our top priority. We therefore believe it is time to put in place a new management team that can restore trust and take the airline to new heights. Cathay Pacific is fully committed to Hong Kong under the principle of " One country, two systems as enshrined in the Basic Law. We are confident that Hong Kong will have a great future."
