Cathay Pacific flags recovery in airfares, shares surge

Big changes: Hogg speaking during a Bloomberg Television interview in Hong Kong yesterday. He says the measures have been put in place to make substantial changes in the business. — Bloomberg

SINGAPORE: Cathay Pacific Airways expects airfares will recover further this year after four years of declines, a senior executive said, offering a positive outlook for the Hong Kong airline that sent its shares 7.6% higher.

The carrier posted on Wednesday a smaller-than-expected annual loss of HK$1.26bil (US$160mil) due to a rebound in the cargo market, a slower pace of decline in ticket prices and lower fuel hedging losses.