Cathay Pacific Group will grow its fleet by seven aircraft in 2020, down by six from the original plan, as it adjusts capacity to the ongoing crisis in Hong Kong, the holding said in an analysts' briefing on November 14, 2019.

According to the updated plan, the group deferred one A320-200neo delivery to HK Express (UO, Hong Kong International) and three A321-200neo deliveries to Cathay Dragon (Hong Kong International), initially scheduled for 2020. As such, the group will add seventeen aircraft in the next year, including four A320neo for HK Express, six A321neo for Cathay Dragon, and four A350-900s and three A350-1000s for Cathay Pacific (CX, Hong Kong International).

The group also accelerated planned retirement of one B777-300(ER) from Cathay Pacific and one A320-200 from Cathay Dragon to increase the total number of phase-outs planned for 2020 to 10. This will include three A330-300s operated by Cathay Pacific or Cathay Dragon, one B777-300(ER) from Cathay Pacific, and five A320-200s and one A321-200 from Cathay Dragon.

According to the ch-aviation fleets module, Cathay Pacific currently operates twenty-nine A330-300s, twelve A350-1000s, twenty-four -900s, seventeen B777-300s, and fifty-one -300(ER)s. The airline also operates six B747-400(F)s and fourteen B747-8(F)s. It has a further eight A350-1000s, four -900, and twenty-one B777-9s on firm orders. Cathay Dragon operates fifteen A320-200s, eight A321-200s, and twenty-six A330-300s, and will take sixteen A321neo by 2024. while HK Express operates eight A320-200s, five A320neo, and eleven A321-200s. The low-cost unit will also add sixteen A321neo over the next five years.

The group also includes cargo specialist Air Hong Kong (LD, Hong Kong International) with nine in-house A300-600(F)s, as well as one A300-600(F), one A330-200Fm and three A330-300(P2F)s wet-leased from ASL Airlines Ireland (ABR, Dublin International).

The Hong Kong-based group is under strain due to the ongoing and often violent pro-democracy protests in the territory. Cathay Pacific reported that the inbound passenger traffic in August and September 2019 was down by 38% year-to-year, and in October was down by 35%, while the outbound traffic is down by more than 10% over the last three full months.

"To counter weakened travel sentiment, we have made some ad hoc capacity adjustments to align with demand, and there will be some structural consolidation in frequencies on both long-haul and regional routes for the duration of our 2019 winter schedule," the carrier said.

Cathay Pacific has already suspended services to Dublin International and Medan Kuala Namu (operated by Cathay Dragon) for the remainder of the Winter 2019/20 season.