Cathay Pacific (CX, Hong Kong International) is attempting to source up to fifty A320-200neo family aircraft from lessors as Airbus delivery timelines for the type blow out to the end of the decade.
Citing people familiar with the discussions, Bloomberg says Cathay Pacific and its subsidiary, HK Express (UO, Hong Kong International), would rather acquire the aircraft directly from the manufacturer, but a significant uptick in passenger demand following Hong Kong and mainland China reopening their borders means neither airline can afford to wait over a half a decade for first deliveries. Cathay Pacific CCO Lavinia Lam declined to comment to ch-aviation when asked about any impending lease deals.
Cathay Pacific flew 1,114,727 passengers in February, a 3,467% increase on the comparable 2022 figure. "By the end of March, the Cathay Group will be operating approximately 50% of pre-pandemic passenger flight capacity, covering more than 70 destinations," said Lam. According to ch-aviation fleets data, the airline has 129 aircraft back in the air and CEO Ronald Lam recently said all remaining parked aircraft would be re-activated by early 2024. At HK Express, 22 of its 26 aircraft are back in service.
To date, widebody aircraft have made up the majority of Cathay Pacific's fleet. While Cathay Pacific has a total of 191 active and inactive aircraft, only 16 of them are narrowbodies. That number includes four inactive A320-200s, three inactive A321-200s, and nine (one inactive) A321-200NX with a further seven on order.
While HK Express leases all of its aircraft, parent Cathay Pacific has traditionally purchased aircraft rather than lease them. Only 11% of Cathay's current fleet is leased, primarily long-haul widebodies, including B777-300ERs, A330-300s, and A350-900s. Neither Cathay Pacific nor HK Express have any narrowbody aircraft on order at Boeing or Airbus, indicating that the additional A321-200NXs will arrive via lessors.
