Cathay Pacific to become "leaner", but hiring continues

On Wednesday, Cathay Pacific reported an attributable loss of HK$575 million for 2016. This compares to a profit of HK$6,000 million in 2015, and is the company's first annual loss in eight years. In response to the results, the company says it will become "leaner".

In a press release, the company's chairman John Slosar said: "We expect the operating environment in 2017 to remain challenging. Strong competition from other airlines and the adverse effect of the strength of the Hong Kong dollar are expected to continue to put pressure on yield. The cargo market got off to a good start, but overcapacity is expected to persist."

He added that the company is starting on a three year programme of corporate transformation with the intention of achieving returns above the cost of capital. "The goal is to become a more agile and competitive organisation in order to take advantage of changing market trends and customer preferences," Slosar said.

In addition to becoming more agile, the press release states the organisation will become "leaner". "This will improve productivity and reduce costs and will also enable us to make decisions more quickly," it reads.

Despite painting a picture of a leaner and more agile company, part of the plan is to increase the crew on hand to serve travellers, by hiring another 1,300 staff this year including pilots and attendants, the South China Morning Post reports.

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Photo / Cathay Pacific