Cathay took a more pessimistic view. It suspended operations completely on some routes, and even those which were kept open substantially reduced frequency. Ticket prices increased as overheads had to be covered by a smaller number of passengers. But the main impact was on staff: large numbers of pilots and cabin crew were laid off and others quit as working conditions became less attractive.
As the world largely returned to normal and air travel opened up again, demand for qualified personnel rose. Because Hong Kong maintained controls for longer than other places, its recovery efforts were also delayed and other airlines had a head start over Cathay in recruitment.
Based on what he said in the speech and in casual conversation, I am optimistic Cathay can restore its worldwide network in terms of routes, frequencies and staff numbers on schedule by the first quarter of 2025, and that ticket prices will start to come down.
I have a lingering concern about the staff issue but related more to morale than numbers. When I first arrived in 1972, I thought of England as home. But soon, the process of going home began at Heathrow and when I saw the sign “CX252 Hong Kong” at the Cathay check-in counter.
This feeling became even stronger as the years passed. Between 2000 and 2008, I travelled extensively on Cathay in my capacity as first director general of investment promotion. A normal week in North America or Europe would begin with a flight to the first city at the weekend, with a full day programme there followed by a flight to the next city.
Each day would be a series of company visits plus a speech to a business organisation and a press interview, then an evening flight to the next city, all with the objective of explaining the advantages of doing business in Hong Kong. By Friday night, the team would be exhausted and more than ready for the return flight that weekend.
Wherever we were in the world, it was such a relief to see the Cathay check-in counter staff, the familiar uniform of the flight attendants as we boarded, and to hear the captain’s voice on the loudspeaker system. We were with family and almost home.
Recently, on personal journeys to destinations in Southeast Asia and the Chinese mainland, I have experienced the services of competing airlines. Suffice to say, they have substantially upped their game – still short of Cathay at its finest but giving us a run for our money.
Lam is well aware of the need to restore and enhance Cathay’s reputation for quality of service. I also impressed on him my view that it would be important to restore the sense of family.
Mike Rowse is an independent commentator