Cathay Pacific Embellishes Product For U.S. Routes

<B>Cathay Pacific Embellishes Product For U.S. Routes</B>

By Maria Lenhart

Buoyed by rising demand from North America, Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways is making substantial investments in its transpacific service, including a new codesharing agreement with American Airlines, new first class sections on all its long-haul B747-400 aircraft and increased frequency between Hong Kong and Los Angeles.

"Thanks to the strong U.S. economy, North America is now our largest revenue producer outside of Hong Kong," said Scott Mowrer, vice president of the Americas for Cathay Pacific in Los Angeles. "It prompted us to enlarge our business class sections last year and now we're introducing a first class product aimed at high-end corporate travelers."

Cathay Pacific recently installed the new first class sections on all of its 747-400 aircraft serving North American gateways. Designed to compete with the level of first class service already offered by British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Qantas and Air France, Cathay Pacific's first class cabins feature seats that can be reclined to a fully horizontal position and enclosed by privacy screens to create a bedroom-like effect. Other amenities include sleeper suits, duvets, 10-inch personal TVs with a choice of 30 movies, meals cooked to order and a central buffet table. For getting work done in midair, the cabins also feature extra large tables at every seat and access to telephones and fax machines.

In reconfiguring its aircraft to accommodate the new service, Cathay Pacific is reducing the number of first class seats from 18 to 12. By contrast, the number of business class seats have been increased on all aircraft by 50 percent, giving some aircraft on transpacific flights as many as 90 seats. Cathay Pacific's focus on the first and business class markets also has brought new enhancements to The Wing, its first and business class lounge at Hong Kong International Airport. Chief among them is the Elemis Day Spa, a full-service spa that opened in January that has a hair salon, skin care treatments, body and facial massage and reflexology treatments. With hours designed to be in sync with Cathay's flight schedule, the spa opens at 8:30 a.m. and stays open until the departure of the airline's last flight.



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Adding More U.S. Service</B>

The airline also plans to beef up service out of North America this year. In September, Cathay Pacific will increase its service between Hong Kong and Los Angeles to two flights a day, up from the current 10 flights per week. The carrier also is considering the inauguration of service between Honolulu and Hong Kong, a route currently served by no other airline. While no new North American gateways, other than Honolulu, are under consideration, Cathay hopes to extend its U.S. reach with the codeshare it signed in January with American Airlines.

The current U.S. and Hong Kong air transport agreement does not specifically authorize codesharing between U.S. and Hong Kong carriers, but government negotiations are underway to revise the agreement. If approved, the codeshare agreement would allow Cathay Pacific to place its code on American's U.S. domestic flights beyond Cathay Pacific's gateway cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York. It also could be placed on flights between the United States and some destinations served by AA in Latin America. Conversely, American could put its code on Cathay flights between the United States and Hong Kong, and between Hong Kong and other Asian destinations.

According to Mowrer, approval for the codeshare could come before year-end. While the two airlines have had a reciprocal frequent flyer relationship for 10 years, codesharing would allow for easier booking and smoother connections from some feeder cities. "In particular," Mowrer said, "this would greatly improve our reach into cities like Chicago, Dallas and Miami, where American has a strong presence.