Cathay Pacific 'Cautiously optimistic' on outlook

Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd chairman James Hughes-Hallett said he remains “cautiously optimistic” about the carrier’s prospects over the longer term.

“I think it is already a proven fact that the bottom has been reached and that we are coming out of the bottom,” Hughes-Hallett told reporters after the company’s AGM, highlighting recent passenger and cargo load improvements.

“But I think the question we all have to ask, whether it is in Cathay Pacific or in Hong Kong economy as a whole, is whether those cargo loads simply represent a one off restocking exercise, particularly in the US, or whether they represent a genuine longer term recovery in the US,” Hughes-Hallett said.

“I think it is a little too early to call that at the moment,” he said.

Hughes-Hallett does not expect the airline’s recovery will be as strong as that reported in 1999 after the Asian financial crisis, and reiterated that the recovery is likely to depend on the what happens in the US.

Separately, Hughes-Hallett said Cathay Pacific is in talks with DHL International about developing its partnership, however declined to give details on the nature of the talks.

“I am not yet able to make an announcement about where those talks will take us,” he said.

Cathay Pacific shares closed down 0.40 hkd at 12.75.