Cathay Group to boost connectivity to Mainland China

The Cathay Group is scaling up services to Mainland China this summer, with an enhanced schedule providing close to 300 return flights per week during the peak period.

Both Cathay Pacific and HK Express prepare for the busy summer season – Imge, The Cathay Group.

The group (covering Cathay Pacific and HK Express) is focusing on on the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and Yangtze River Delta regions, with Cathay continuing to boost flight capacity and provide planned flight schedules to ensure frequent travel services throughout the day to Beijing and Shanghai.

To support this, the Group has increased flight frequencies to other key Chinese Mainland cities to meet the significant demand for leisure and business travel.

• Beijing: Increasing to seven daily return flights to Beijing Capital International Airport, together with a daily flight to Beijing Daxing International Airport operated by HK Express, for a total of 56 return flights per week to Beijing’s two major international airports.
• Shanghai: Increasing to eight daily return flights to Shanghai Pudong International Airport, along with 11 return flights per week to Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport. In total, Cathay Pacific will operate 67 return flights per week between Hong Kong and Shanghai.
• Zhengzhou, Ningbo, Haikou, Chongqing: Each increasing from four return flights per week to daily flights, with HK Express also operating daily flights to Ningbo this summer, significantly enhancing flight frequencies between Hong Kong and these popular destinations.

Other routes with more flights include:

• Flights to Hangzhou are increasing to four return flights per day
• Flights to Nanjing are increasing to twice per day
• Flights to Wenzhou are increasing to 10 per week,
• Flights to Wuhan are increasing to 12 per week.

Finally, Cathay Pacific will be launching direct flights between Hong Kong and Urumqi from 28 April.

Together with HK Express, the Cathay Group will operate close to 300 return flights per week between Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland during the peak period this summer – nearly 40% more than in 2024 – reinforcing connectivity between Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland and the world while promoting economic and cultural exchange.

International Growth

Cathay Group is working on growing international connections out of Hong Kong, with the airline adding 13 destinations to its network. They include

For Cathay Pacific:

• Hyderabad
• Dallas-Fort Worth
• Urumqi
• Rome
• Munich
• Brussels

For HK Express:

• Sendai
• Nha Trang
• Ishigaki
• Komatsu
• Cheongju
• Daegu Miyako (Shimojishima)

In Quotes

After a few years in the doldrums, the Cathay Group is targeting growth this time, with some aggressive moves – both in Mainland China and beyond, with growth across its network.

It’s also good to see the airline making good use of HK Express after purchasing it in 2019, finally turning around the unit into profit in 2023.

There is no doubt that The Cathay Group will be seeking to capitalise on this – as well as with its Cathay Pacific unit to deliver services, passengers and revenue, as they deliver the services to entice people to use their operation

Welcome to Economy Class and Beyond. Your no-nonsense guide to network news, honest reviews, in-depth coverage, unique research, as well as the humour and madness I only know how to deliver.

Our Social Media pool has expanded. You can find us across most networks as @economybeyond on BlueSky, Threads, Mastodon and Instagram!

Also, remember that we are part of the BoardingArea community, bringing you the latest frequent flyer news from around the world.