Cathay Pacific Confirms 4% Salary Increment for Select Staff

Cathay Pacific has confirmed a 4% salary increment for the majority of eligible Hong Kong-based ground staff and cabin crew for 2016.

The airline will also give a discretionary bonus payment for 2015, based on one month’s salary, which will be paid to eligible staff in their December salary payment.

Staff on a lower salary band will receive a higher increment than senior staff. For 2016, the majority of Hong Kong staff will receive a 4% pay increase, while senior staff will receive an increment ranging from 3.7% to 3.8%.

“Aviation continues to be a challenging industry. We are facing slower economic growth, a reduction of inbound travellers from Mainland China, and sluggish cargo traffic. There are many uncertainties ahead in 2016 that require us to take a cautious approach. We believe the salary increment for 2016 is fair and reasonable given the operating environment we face,” said Cathay Pacific Chief Executive, Ivan Chu. “We saw an improvement in our business in the first half of the year, driven by high passenger numbers and the lower price of fuel. These trends continued into the second half of the year, which is traditionally stronger, but our overall performance has been affected by pressure on passenger yield and weaker-than-expected premium traffic on long-haul routes. On the cargo side of the business, we have seen stagnating demand since the second quarter of the year together with declining yield as a result of overcapacity in the market.”

The airline will next year celebrate its 70th anniversary.