News
Cathay Dragon expands with order for 32 A321neo
August 25th 2017
The Cathay Pacific Group this week signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Airbus for 32 A321neo aircraft for deliveries from 2020 through to 2023. Read More » The aircraft will be operated by Cathay Dragon, the regional carrier of the group, on flights linking its Hong Kong base with destinations across the region. The order has a list value of HK$31.7 billion (US$4.05 billion).
The order marks a significant expansion for Cathay Dragon. The 32 A321neo aircraft will replace and modernise the carrier’s current in-service fleet of 15 A320s and eight A321s, with the additional aircraft allowing the airline to grow in the region. Cathay Dragon now serves 56 Asian destinations, including 28 in Mainland China. The airline’s longest flight is a twice-weekly Hong Kong-Denpasar A330-300 route.
Cathay Pacific CEO and Cathay Dragon chairman, Rupert Hogg, said: “The Airbus fleet has been serving Cathay Dragon well over the decades. With the A321neo we expect to benefit from a very significant increase in operating efficiency, while increasing capacity in the Cathay Dragon network in order to expand our reach to more customers.”
John Leahy, Airbus COO, Customers, said: “Airbus is proud to have been selected to supply Cathay Dragon’s future single-aisle fleet. This is another major endorsement of the A321neo as the aircraft of choice in the middle-of-the-market segment. The A321neo offers the lowest operating costs, longest range capability and most spacious cabin in its class.”
Following this week’s MOU, Cathay Dragon will remain an all-Airbus carrier for many years to come. Boeing was pitching its rival B737 MAX series to the airline but did not manage to undercut the Airbus offer.
Cathay Dragon also operates 24 widebody A330-300 aircraft, which are on average 20-25 years old. These will need to be replaced in the near future. Perhaps Boeing’s B787 will be given a shot this time, but it is much more likely Cathay Dragon will replace them with younger A330s coming offline from mainline Cathay or that the airline will place an A330neo order.
Parent Cathay Pacific now operates 37 A330-300s and 17 A350-900s. The carrier has another 31 A350 XWBs on order for future delivery, including 26 larger A350-1000s.
The Cathay Group last week reported its worst first-half performance in more than two decades, a HK$2 billion (US$153 million) first-half loss.
