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Qatar Airways has agreed to take a 9.61-percent stake in Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific for $661 million in a surprise move that comes just five weeks after Qatar closed on a 49-percent acquisition of Italy’s Meridiana. The new acquisition sends another signal of the Qatari carrier’s aggressive pursuit of equity stakes in other airlines following a rebuke by fellow OneWorld member American Airlines. Cathay Pacific, another OneWorld member, now becomes the fourth airline in which Qatar owns a major equity stake. Qatar also owns a 20-percent share in British Airways parent International Airlines Group, a 10-percent stake in Latam Airlines Group and 49 percent of Italy’s Meridiana.
“Cathay Pacific is a fellow OneWorld member and is one of the strongest airlines in the world, respected throughout the industry and with massive potential for the future,” commented Qatar Airways Group CEO Akbar Al Baker.
Over the summer Cathay Pacific reported a $73.8 million loss for 2016 and announced it would lay off 600 staff from its headquarters, prompting it to pressure frontline service crew to “deliver greater efficiencies and productivity.” The retrenchment marked the biggest such exercise since 1998, following the Asian financial crisis.
Cathay Pacific said it consideres the second half of 2017 a continuing challenge, and while it begins to introduce new routes this year, its hopes lay with new aircraft such as the Airbus A350 to increase productivity and reduce costs over time. As of late last month, Cathay had taken delivery of 16 A350-900s and most recently replaced a Boeing 777-300ER with one of its new Airbus widebodies on its Newark-Hong Kong service.
Qatar Airways agreed to take a 9.61-percent stake in Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific for $661 million in a surprise move that came just five weeks after Qatar closed on a 49-percent acquisition of Italy’s Meridiana. The new acquisition sends another signal of the Qatari carrier’s aggressive pursuit of equity stakes in other airlines following a rebuke by fellow OneWorld member American Airlines. The deal makes Cathay Pacific, another OneWorld member, the fourth airline in which Qatar owns a major equity stake. Qatar also owns a 20-percent share in British Airways parent International Airlines Group, a 10-percent stake in Latam Airlines Group and 49 percent of Italy’s Meridiana.
“Cathay Pacific is a fellow OneWorld member and is one of the strongest airlines in the world, respected throughout the industry and with massive potential for the future,” commented Qatar Airways Group CEO Akbar Al Baker.
Over the summer Cathay Pacific reported a $73.8 million loss for 2016 and announced it would lay off 600 staff from its headquarters, prompting it to pressure frontline service crew to “deliver greater efficiencies and productivity.” The retrenchment marked the biggest such exercise since 1998, following the Asian financial crisis.
Cathay Pacific said it consideres the second half of 2017 a continuing challenge, and while it begins to introduce new routes this year, its hopes lay with new aircraft such as the Airbus A350 to increase productivity and reduce costs over time. As of late October, Cathay had taken delivery of 16 A350-900s and most recently replaced a Boeing 777-300ER with one of its new Airbus widebodies on its Newark-Hong Kong service.