21.09.2023 - 01:18 UTC
Cathay Pacific (CX, Hong Kong International) is putting its proposed capital reduction program to the vote at an extraordinary shareholders meeting in Hong Kong on October 11.
As previously reported in ch-aviation, the board of Cathay Pacific wants to cancel the HKD19.5 billion Hong Kong dollars (USD2.5 billion) credit remaining in the airline's preference shares capital account. The board wants to use this to redeem previously issued preference shares. In 2020, the airline issued HKD19.5 billion worth of preference shares to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government as part of a recapitalisation program extended to the then financially distressed carrier.
"The board believes that the proposed capital reduction is fair and reasonable and in the interests of the company and the shareholders as a whole," reads a September 18 letter to shareholders. "The implementation of the proposed capital reduction will not, of itself, alter the consolidated net asset value, underlying assets, liabilities, business, operations, management or financial position of the company or the interests of the shareholders as a whole."
In the...
11.09.2023 - 11:10 UTC
A former chief operating officer at Polar Air Cargo (PO, New York JFK) was extradited from Thailand to the United States last month to face wire fraud and money laundering charges. Lars Winkelbauer was one of four senior executives at Polar Air Cargo and six vendors indicted by the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) in April 2023 over an alleged USD52 million fraud. At the time, Winkelbauer was in Thailand, where local authorities arrested him pending his extradition.
According to the Loadstar outlet, authorities processed Winkelbauer upon his arrival in the United States. He was released on a USD750,000 bond and is subject to electronic monitoring. The allegations are that between 2009 and 2021, the ten individuals defrauded Polar Air Cargo by accepting millions of dollars in kickbacks from the vendor defendants in exchange for ensuring that those vendors received favourable business arrangements with Polar. Winkelbauer's matter is the United States v. Winkelbauer, 23-CR-133 (JMF), ECF No. 3 (S.D.N.Y.).
"The defendants, all of whom were either employed in high-level positions by Polar or were...
17.07.2023 - 23:05 UTC
Buoyed by a huge expected swing to profit for the first half of this year, Cathay Pacific (CX, Hong Kong International) has said it will buy back the preference shares currently held by the Hong Kong government as well as repurchase all other preferred stock held elsewhere over the next 12 months. It will also give away two to six weeks’ salary to staff who joined the company on or before December 31 last year.
The group, which besides the mainline carrier also includes cargo specialist Air Hong Kong (LD, Hong Kong International) and budget carrier HK Express (UO, Hong Kong International), announced on July 14 that it expected to record a consolidated profit of around HKD4-4.5 billion Hong Kong dollars (USD512-576 million) for the first half of 2023, including a one-off gain from the sale of a 1.9% shareholding in minority parent Air China (CA, Beijing Capital).
The profit, based on a preliminary review of the group’s unaudited accounts, stands in contrast to a loss of HKD5 billion (USD640...
19.03.2023 - 22:58 UTC
Air Hong Kong (LD, Hong Kong International) will retire its entire A300F fleet by the end of next year according to data contained in Cathay Pacific's 2022 Annual Report and first noted by CargoFacts. By the end of 2024, all nine A300-600(F)s will he returned to their lessors, to be replaced by second-hand A330Fs.
In addition to the A300-600(F)s, Air Hong Kong also has two A330-200Fs and five A330-300(P2F)s in its fleet, which the interim report indicates are due to be handed back to their owners in 2027. According to ch-aviation fleets advanced data, Air Hong Kong acquired its current A300F fleet over 2004 and 2005. Eight of the nine aircraft come on leases from DHL Express while the ninth, B-LDH (msn 871) is leased from AELF - Aircraft Engine Lease Finance.
Since securing the A300-600(F)s almost two decades ago, Air Hong Kong has primarily operated the aircraft on behalf of DHL Express, while any excess capacity is used by the cargo division of Cathay Pacific (CX,...
