Cathay Pacific Airways reported a loss of HK$263 million (US$33 million) for the first half of this year on the back of rising operating expenses, which rose by 8.5% to HK$53.3 billion in the first six months of the year. Fuel costs rose by 7.4%, with airport landing and parking fees up 18.4% and aircraft maintenance up 5.2%. Revenue grew by 15.&% however to HK$53 billion due to strong earnings from its cargo business and an increase in airfare prices.
In a statement, chairman John Slosar, said that the operating environment for Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon “remains challenging”, adding a warning of economic “uncertainty” fuelled by the US-China trade war that could hurt the airline’s cargo business.
“Our airlines usually perform better in the second half of the year than in the first half of the year. We expect this to be the case in 2018,” he said.