Cathay Pacific launches Manchester, continuing long-haul re-balance and clawing back at Emirates

Cathay Pacific's planned four-weekly Hong Kong-Manchester service, due to start in Dec-2014, will see it bring service to Hong Kong's largest un-served long-haul destination. Cathay will seek to claw back gains made by Emirates, which carried an estimated 38% of Hong Kong-Manchester traffic in 2013, according to OAG Traffic Analyser. Manchester is Emirates' largest destination from Hong Kong after London. 19% of the HKG-Manchester market transited London from either a British Airways or Cathay long-haul flight to a BA domestic flight, while 5-9% of the market travelled with each Air France, Finnair, KLM and Qatar. Cathay's service will be Manchester's first non-stop flight to East Asia; Singapore Airlines' daily flight is via Munich.

The new route is about much more than Hong Kong origin traffic. Cathay will be able to tap the Australia-Manchester market, also currently held by Emirates, as well as a number of other destinations. The new move comes as Cathay seeks to re-balance its network, which in recent times has tilted towards short-haul, where Cathay is facing extreme competition. A top-up 777-300ER order in Dec-2013 should see Cathay continue long-haul growth.

Zurich and Munich are the next largest European destinations not served by Cathay from Hong Kong, while in North America Cathay's service to Newark means it serves all seven of Hong Kong's largest markets, leaving Seattle and Boston. However these markets are smaller so it is uncertain whether Cathay will find them sufficiently attractive.