Cathay Pacific orders 14 Airbus aircrafts to expand its fleet

Nov 11 : Hong Kong flagship carrier Cathay Pacific said on Wednesday it has exercised its purchase rights for 14 more regional widebody and narrowbody Airbus aircraft as part of its fleet expansion and renewal plan.

Here are the details:

• Cathay said it has exercised purchase Rights for 11 more Airbus A330-900 widebody aircraft, on top of the 30 it previously ordered in 2024, bringing the total number of orders for the Airbus A330neo variants to 41

• These will gradually replace Cathay's existing fleet in the category, primarily serving regional Asian routes while allowing for longer-haul operations later, the airline said

• The new planes come with improved fuel efficiency and are expected to be delivered between 2031 and 2035

• After negotiations with Airbus S.A.S., Cathay will pay a discounted price for each aircraft, which is expected to be below the basic price of around $5.11 billion.

• Cathay also exercised purchase rights for three additional Airbus A321neo jets, beyond the 32 A321neo and A320neo aircraft ordered in 2023

• The three A321neo aircraft will help boost Cathay's budget arm HK Express' routes and focus on destinations in the Chinese Mainland and other short-haul routes, Cathay Pacific added

• "These new orders bring our total aircraft deliveries from 2026 to 120, bringing us closer to our plan of 150 new aircraft deliveries", CEO Ronald Lam said