Community
23 December, 2024
Welcome back Cathay
THE return of seasonal services from Hong Kong to Cairns by Cathay Pacific could pave the way for regular year-round flights by the celebrated airline.
Passengers touched down mid-morning on the first of seasonal services on Tuesday which marked the return of the carrier five years after it withdrew from the Cairns market on October 2019, ending a 25-year history in the region.
The new service will not be the full-time flight schedule of those earlier years but will be delivered three days a week until March 29, 2025, on an A330 aircraft.
“The seasonal flights are a vital first step in re-establishing our long-running partnership with Cathay Pacific and we hope it lays the foundations for more opportunities,” Cairns Airport head of aviation business development David Nye said.
He said it would deliver 27,000 seats into the region during “an ideal time” – the summer holiday period and the festive season and Chinese New Year celebrations for the Year of the Snake.
For the outbound, Hong Kong was “a major gateway to mainland China” and Cathay Pacific provided connectivity to the world, Mr Nye said.
Cathay Pacific customer travel and lifestyle for south-west Pacific director Tom Kennedy said the resumption of the service had been due to the hard-working partnership between Cairns Airport, the Queensland Government, Tropical Tourism North Queensland and Cathay Pacific.
“Hong Kong is now just over seven hours away from Cairns,” he said.
“And for you foodies, here’s a fun fact: Hong Kong has 79 Michelin star restaurants.”
It also offered culture, art, and sport and was a great destination or a stopover, connecting to over 80 destinations around the world.
Cargo was also an important part of the new service, with local exports carried in the belly of the aircraft.
“Fish, lobsters, meat, seasonal fruit, are some of the key products we’ll be exporting out of Far North Queensland,” Mr Kennedy said.
Local exporters would also gain access to a major export hub and to markets beyond.
TTNQ chief executive officer Mark Olsen said this season’s success would be essential in establishing longer term connectivity.
“We are so excited to be re-booting our connection with Hong Kong,” he said.
“Today we re-establish Cairns as the northern gateway to Australia for international travellers, and we can’t wait to pin it down to a year-round service.”
The option for extending into another season or making the service year-round would very much be performance based, whether that be through freight or passengers.
He said pre-Covid pandemic, one-in-four international visitors to Cairns were from China, so there was some catching up to do.
For passengers travelling between Hong Kong and Cairns, the return of a direct service marks the end of a gruelling journey.
“We used to live in Cairns a few years back, and one of the reasons we were so OK with moving away was that we had this direct flight, and now we are just so excited that it’s back,” Jessica Mizzi said, arriving with her children Max and Ellie, to visit her father David Rolfe-Flett.
“We came down in June this year. I had to fly via Sydney and it took a day and a half each way, so to be able to get a direct flight is absolute magic,” she said.
“This is a very special Christmas. Dad’s been a bit unwell this year and we haven’t spent Christmas together (in Cairns), for about 10 years.
“When I heard the news about the direct flights I think I just burst into tears, actually.”
For David Rolfe-Flett, it means he also has opportunities to visit his family overseas.
“It’s great, it is so much easier,” he said.
Jessica’s husband, who is a pilot with Cathay Pacific, will also join them for a major family get-together.
“He actually flies this aircraft,” she said.
“Unfortunately, the roster Gods didn’t work out so he’s flying in two days’ time and then we’ll do family Christmas.”
