Cathay Pacific: 'We're sure the A350F will operate efficiently for us'

Cathay Pacific area head of cargo ANZ Nigel Chynoweth, speaking at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit Australia Pacific, confirmed (29-Jul-2026) the airline has ordered up to 20 A350Fs, comprising at least seven firm orders and options for up to 13 additional A350Fs. Mr Chynoweth commented: "It's not going to be a game changer, but we're sure that it'll operate efficiently for us". He explained that the A350F "provides that flexibility, in that the same crew can operate an A350 freighter as the A350 passenger variant", which is not the case for Cathay's Boeing freighter fleet, which cannot be crewed by the same personnel as its Boeing passenger aircraft. Mr Chynoweth noted that Cathay operates Hong Kong-Brisbane passenger service with A350 equipment and cargo service on the same route with Boeing freighter equipment at present. Once it takes delivery of the A350Fs it has on order, the airline will be able to operate more efficiently to Brisbane by exclusively deploying A350 passenger and freighter variants on the route, with the same crew able to serve on both.