Will this HK airline be able to propel forward in the strong headwinds?

Cathay Pacific currently serves around 80 destinations compared with 109 destinations in 2018. — Pixabay

As Hong Kong struggles back onto the tourism charts, several misdirected official pronouncements have placed immense pressure on local carrier Cathay Pacific to launch new routes to Mainland China and to the Middle East.

None of this has anything to do with profitability – the airline announced an attributable profit of HK$9.7mil (RM5.85mil) in 2023, a pittance in the scheme of things. This has to do with patriotic hubris, which has seen the downfall of many a proud “flag carrier” starting with the bankruptcy in 1991 of American biggie Pan Am that had planted the national flag just about everywhere.