Cathay ramps up US expansion

Cathay Pacific Airways has announced further plans to expand its operations in the US, with the addition of extra flights to Los Angeles and Chicago.

The Hong Kong-based carrier recently announced plans to launch a new direct service to Newark from 1 March 2014, and it will continue its US expansion later next year with the addition of a fourth daily flight to Los Angeles and three more weekly flights to Chicago.

“North America is an important market for Cathay Pacific and we are pleased to be able to expand our services further and provide even more options for travellers. Los Angeles and Chicago are important gateway cities in the United States and we have been seeing consistently strong demand from business and leisure customers on both routes,” said Cathay’s chief executive, John Slosar.

“Adding a morning departure from Hong Kong to Los Angeles will give passengers the option of a morning arrival into the city, with a range of connections to other cities in the US. For the Chicago flight, meanwhile, we’ll be providing an additional choice of an evening departure out of Hong Kong, which will mean better connections for travellers arriving from cities around the region,” he added.

Commencing on 1 June 2014, Cathay will add a fourth daily direct flight between Hong Kong and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), with a new 0930 morning departure complementing the existing afternoon and night flights. Then from 2 August 2014, the airline will increase its services to Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) from six to 10 flights a week, including twice daily flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

All new flights, to LAX and ORD, will be operated using a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with first, business, premium economy and economy class cabins.

Following this expansion and the Newark launch, Cathay will offer 87 weekly flights to five US destinations – New York (JFK), Newark, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco.