The Cathay group’s recovery rate was about 56 per cent, Sobie said, explaining it carried 22 million passengers in 2023, compared with 39 million in 2019.

Hong Kong air passenger numbers hit 75 per cent of pre-pandemic figures

“The group’s recovery so far is in line with Hong Kong’s overall recovery which indicates they have not lost market share,” he said.

Cathay’s 2023 performance represented a near sevenfold jump from 3 million passengers in 2022.

Lavinia Lau Hoi-zee, chief customer and commercial officer, said the group made “significant progress” in rebuilding last year.

“As we look ahead to 2024, we remain committed to working towards fully rebuilding our flights,” she said, adding she expected strong demand over the Lunar New Year holiday.

She added the Barcelona service would resume from June.

Hong Kong air passenger numbers hit 75 per cent of pre-pandemic figures

Cathay carried almost 1.4 million tonnes of cargo throughout 2023, 16.6 per cent higher than in 2022.

Cathay CEO Ronald Lam Siu-por said earlier this month that the number of flights had reached 70 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.

Cathay and HK Express have set a target of a return to full passenger flight capacity this year.

But the group had to cancel flights from December to February to ensure normal operations during the Lunar New Year holiday in mid-February.

Lam apologised for the cancellations, which the group attributed to seasonal illness.

But in a memo sent to staff and seen by the Post, the carrier also acknowledged that many pilots had reached or were close to hitting their limit of 900 flying hours during a rolling 12-month period.

How are customers of Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific coping with flight disruptions?

The company is suffering from a shortage of experienced pilots following pandemic-related lay-offs and pay cuts to remaining crew, which resulted in hundreds subsequently resigning.

The Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association, which represents Cathay pilots, said the number of captains and first officers for passenger flights stood at just 52 per cent of 2019’s levels.

In another memo, also seen by the Post, Cathay’s general manager for aircrew, Jack Bennett, on Wednesday announced measures to boost pilot morale, including increasing a cap on school allowances for eligible children aged 11 to 18 from the current HK$100,000 (US$12,800) per annum to HK$150,000.

He also said that “to provide more certainty to our pilots in this crucial phase”, the pay mechanism for the annual target of flying hours – used to fix hourly rates of pay – would not be increased this year or 2025.

Association chairman Paul Weatherilt said the latest announcement was a commitment “not to reduce hourly pay” for the next two years, which had been a source of contention among pilots.

He called the changes an “admission by Cathay management that pilot pay remains uncompetitive”.

“They have a mountain to climb ahead of them. In 2023 they only had to increase the number of captains. From now on, they have to increase the number of first officers and captains,” he said.

Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific slashes flying hours for captain training by 25%

In a statement to the Post, a Cathay spokesman said: “We will continue to listen to and communicate with our pilot community to make the enhancements where appropriate.”

Herman Tse, a senior aviation analyst at Ascend by Cirium, said Cathay’s pace of recovery was slower than anticipated.

“There has been a decrease in the number of transfer passengers travelling to and from China. The sluggish recovery of international traffic in China is one of the primary contributing factors,” he said.

The International Air Transport Association, a trade body for airlines, said demand for travel to and from mainland China was 40 per cent below 2019 levels.