Cathay begins Chennai-Hong Kong operations

"It will be a direct, daily flight from Bangalore to Hong Kong"  Cathay Pacific General Manager (India, Middle East, Africa and Pakistan) Tom Wright told reporters here today at the commencement of Cathay Pacific Chennai-Hong Kong flights.    

On the commencement of Chennai-Hong Kong flights with the first flight arriving at Chennai International Airport early today, Wright said they have proposed to operate four flights to Hong Kong from Chennai.    

Cathay Pacific already operates flights on the Delhi-Hong Kong and Mumbai-Hong Kong routes.They were waiting for almost 26 years to get approval from both governments to launch the Chennai-Hong Kong sector,he said.    

As the Airliner has had encouraging support from the cargo industry, it has also launched four cargo flights from Chennai to Hong Kong apart from four passenger flights.    

"Overall, 30 per cent of our revenues come from cargo in India" he said. They mainly carry machinery,telecommunication products and leather from Chennai to Hong Kong.    

From Hong Kong, various raw materials and electronic products are brought to Chennai, he said. Cathay Pacific currently operates 14 passenger flights and eight cargo flights from New Delhi to Hong Kong while from Mumbai to Hong Kong it operates 10 passenger flights and an equal number of cargo flights.    

The A330 flights, which commenced from Chennai to Hong Kong, were carrying 240 tonnes of cargo, Wright said.