News
Cathay Dragon to make re-fleeting decision “this summer”
April 28th 2017
Hong Kong’s Cathay Dragon, the regional subsidiary of Cathay Pacific Airways, is looking to buy up to 32 new regional jets, the South China Morning Post has reported. An order will be placed “this summer”, the carrier said. Read More »
Cathay’s CEO-designate, Rupert Hogg, previously suggested the Cathay Dragon might elect to replace its A330 wide bodies with single aisle aircraft. “Depending on how many seats you will put in whatever aircraft we buy, you might replace a wide body with a narrow body," Hogg said. "You might put in more frequency and less capacity."
Cathay Dragon currently operates a fleet of 46 Airbus aircraft, comprising 23 A330-300s, 15 A320ceo and eight A321ceo.
Orient Aviation understands that A320neo/A321neo and A330neo are under consideration but so is Boeing’s B737 MAX series. Cathay Dragon expects first delivery in 2019.
Earlier this month, parent Cathay Pacific announced the airline’s COO, Rupert Hogg, would succeed Ivan Chu as the airline’s CEO. Chu, who has been CEO since early 2014, is the new chairman of John Swire & Sons (China) Ltd.
Chu was COO at the Swire Group carrier before he took the top job. He will remain on the boards of Cathay Pacific and Swire Pacific as a non-executive director.
Fifty-five-year old Hogg will lead the airline through its three-year corporate transformation programme. As is the tradition with the group, he will take up the chairmanship of Cathay Dragon when he moves to his new role on May 1.
