Chicago Becomes Cathay Pacific’s Next U.S Destination

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--“Service Straight from the Heart” lands at Chicago O’Hare International Airport next year as Cathay Pacific Airways adds America’s third largest city to its growing international route network. Additionally, Cathay Pacific will add more nonstop flights from New York’s JFK International Airport to Hong Kong in 2011 as well.

“Chicago is a global city with an international vibe that works hard to show its influence beyond its borders and is an international gateway for cargo and passengers”

New Chicago Service

Cathay Pacific will launch daily nonstop passenger service between Hong Kong and Chicago on Sept. 1, 2011. The route will be served by a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. Chicago will be the airline’s first new American destination since 1998. The carrier currently serves Los Angeles, New York JFK and San Francisco in the United States with more than 50 flights per week.

“We are extremely excited about being able to expand our network in 2011 with new service to Chicago,” said Tony Tyler, Cathay Pacific’s chief executive. “As Hong Kong’s home carrier, we are pleased to link these two great cities together to meet the demand for both business and leisure travel.”

"Chicago is a global city with an international vibe that works hard to show its influence beyond its borders and is an international gateway for cargo and passengers," said Mayor Richard M. Daley. "We've worked hard to attract new businesses and industries to Chicago and our position as a transportation hub and our efforts to rebound from a global recession is being noticed on an international level. Establishing additional daily air service between Chicago and Hong Kong helps continue to expand economic relations for these cities."

With its reputation for providing outstanding service firmly established on both U.S. coasts, Chicago will be Cathay Pacific’s first passenger destination in America’s heartland.

(The airline already operates a successful all-freighter cargo operation in Chicago with trans-Pacific service to Hong Kong via Anchorage and trans-Atlantic service to Hong Kong via Amsterdam and Dubai.)

“We are extremely pleased to be launching passenger service to one of America’s greatest cities,” said Scott Mowrer, senior vice president, Americas, for Cathay Pacific Airways. “We will be tapping into the inherent commerce and trade of a metropolitan area of more than 9 million people and, through the O’Hare hub operations of our oneworld™ alliance partner, American Airlines, we will be providing people throughout the Midwest with a more robust gateway to Asia – especially mainland China – through the growing network of Cathay Pacific and our sister airline, Dragonair.”

Cathay Pacific intends to launch codeshare services with American Airlines from its new Chicago gateway and looks forward to announcing details in the near future.

Cathay Pacific flight CX807 will depart Chicago daily at 3:25 p.m. Central and arrive in Hong Kong at 8 p.m. local the next day. Flight CX806 will depart Hong Kong at 11:45 a.m. local time and arrive Chicago at 1:45 p.m. Central time the same day.

Flights will be available for sale later this month.

Cathay Pacific to Expand Local Team

Cathay Pacific currently employs 16 staff in Chicago. The cargo team has 12 employees while engineering and passenger sales both have two. With the addition of regularly scheduled passenger service, the local team is expected to grow throughout 2011.

"We will be looking to expand our local sales team and we will be building an airport services team that embodies our 'Service Straight from the Heart' philosophy," Mowrer said. "I anticipate we'll even see some growth in our cargo and engineering teams as well."

Cathay Pacific will announce Chicago-based staff openings via the "Careers" link on its Web site, www.cathaypacific.com/us.

Additional New York Service

On March 27, 2011, Cathay Pacific will add a third nonstop flight from New York’s JFK International Airport to Hong Kong, operating on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays. This new flight will become daily on May 2, 2011.

Currently, Cathay Pacific operates two nonstop flights a day to Hong Kong and one flight to Hong Kong via Vancouver, Canada. All of these services will continue when the new flights are added.

“We are striving to ensure we always remain the most convenient option to Hong Kong and beyond,” said Cathay Pacific’s vice president, Sales and Marketing, Eric Odone. “By offering morning, afternoon and late evening nonstops from New York, we provide the broadest possible array of connections via Hong Kong to mainland China and southeast Asia.”

Cathay Pacific will maintain its one-stop service to Hong Kong from JFK, which also offers year-round travel between New York and Vancouver, British Columbia, making great ski vacations available each winter.

The new New York JFK to Hong Kong flight – CX 845 – will depart at 1:20 a.m. Eastern time and arrive in Hong Kong at 5:15 a.m. the next day. Return service via CX 846, which will initially operate on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, will depart Hong Kong at 6:30 p.m. local time and arrive JFK at 10:25 p.m. Eastern time the same day.

The additional New York flights will be flown using a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

About Cathay Pacific

Headquartered in Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific Airways has been named Airline of the Year three times by the Skytrax World Airline Awards. From North America, Cathay Pacific offers nearly 70 nonstop flights a week to Hong Kong from Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Toronto and Vancouver. Daily nonstop service is also offered from New York's JFK to Vancouver, Canada, and return. The airline is a member of the oneworld™ alliance and a partner in Asia Miles, a leading Travel Reward program. For more information, visit www.cathaypacific.com/us.