Cathay Pacific Adds 3 New European Destinations

On Thursday, August 31st Cathay Pacific loaded 3 new flights into their Summer 2018 schedule, thereby signaling 3 new routes they intend to commence to the Europe.

Hong Kong (HKG) to Brussels (BRU):

Cathay will serve the Belgian capital 4x weekly starting March 27th, 2018 on-board its A350-900 aircraft.

Hong Kong (HKG) to Copenhagen (CPH):

CX will serve the Danish capital 3x weekly starting May 2nd, 2018 on-board its A350-900 aircraft.

Hong Kong (HKG) to Dublin (DUB):

CX will serve the Irish capital 4x weekly starting June 2nd, 2018 on-board its A350-900 aircraft.

The Aircraft:

 

Cathay’s A350-900 is outfitted in a 3 class configuration consisting of 38 (fully flat) business class seats, 28 recliner premium economy seats, and 214 standard economy seats for a total of 280 seats.

This is pretty significant expansion on the part of Cathay, and just another example of what an aircraft like the A350 can bring to the table in terms of network expansion. There’s no way an airline like CX launches all three of these routes with some of their enormous 777’s, but with the A350? Sure. Why not. 3x-4x weekly to each destination is pretty low risk just to test the waters.

I really like the Dublin route, as it will be the city’s first destination to East Asia (although Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar all serve DUB via their respective hubs in the Middle East). This route gets even sweeter if and when Aer Lingus joins IAG alongside British Airways and Iberia (and therefore the Oneworld Alliance). DUB is Aer Lingus’ hub, so this route will give Cathay seamless connection opportunities throughout the rest of Europe. In addition, travelers originating in Asia/Pacific Rim will be offered an alternate transit point (besides LHR) if traveling to destinations in Europe beyond Dublin.

To the Point:

These routes are great additions to Cathay’s European network. CX already serves 12 destination on the continent: Amsterdam, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, London-Gatwick, London-Heathrow, Madrid, Manchester (UK), Milan, Paris, Rome, Zurich, Barcelona (seasonal), so BRU, CPH, and DUB will compliment their existing European service well and give travelers more gateways to Asia and the Pacific.

Have you flown Cathay Pacific’s New A350?

 

*Featured image courtesy of cathaypacific.com