Anchoring the direction of high-quality development, Cathay Group builds a "sky bridge" connecting the world.

2026 is the inaugural year of the 14th Five-Year Plan, as well as a key year for China’s economy to achieve significant results in high-quality development and expand high-level opening-up. The government work report clearly states the commitment to prioritize domestic demand, focus on building a strong domestic market, further expand high-level opening-up, and co-build the Belt and Road Initiative with high quality, pointing the way forward for the civil aviation industry in the new era.

As an international airline group rooted in Hong Kong, backed by the motherland, and connected to the world, Cathay Group actively seizes national development opportunities, relying on Hong Kong International Aviation Hub’s unique advantages, continuously contributing to the national development strategy, facilitating the smooth domestic and international dual circulation, and supporting high-quality regional economic and social development.

Cathay’s 80th Anniversary “Lettuce Leaf Sandwich” Special Livery Aircraft

Upgrading service supply to boost consumption

Consumption is the “main engine” of economic growth, the “touchstone” of high-quality development, and the “thermometer” of people’s well-being. The government work report has placed expanding domestic demand as the top priority for two consecutive years. In 2026, “consumption” is mentioned over 30 times and is listed as a primary task for 2026. The “14th Five-Year” Plan explicitly dedicates a special section to “building a strong domestic market and accelerating the formation of a new development pattern,” proposing to “realize a higher-level dynamic balance of supply and demand, and enhance the endogenous power and reliability of the domestic big cycle.”

The new trend of integrating culture and tourism continues to generate new demands for air travel. In 2025, the “ChinaTravel” craze among foreign tourists swept the globe, while immersive cultural tourism experiences such as “traveling with performances” and “following intangible cultural heritage” became popular. Air travel has become an important link connecting cultural tourism resources and consumer markets. Data shows that in 2025, China’s air passenger volume exceeded 500 million, making it the world’s largest aviation market, ushering in unprecedented development opportunities for the aviation consumption market.

Mainland China is a very important strategic market for Cathay Group and is regarded as a key engine for future growth. Seizing this opportunity, Cathay continues to upgrade its service offerings, responding to market demand with both quality and quantity improvements, helping to boost consumption. Cathay actively supports the development of inbound tourism, leveraging Hong Kong International Aviation Hub’s global network and multimodal transport system to optimize service experience, attract more international travelers to enter the mainland via Hong Kong conveniently, and contribute to cross-border personnel exchanges and consumption vitality.

On the service front, Cathay has become one of the few airlines worldwide to equip every cabin with in-flight entertainment systems and high-speed wireless networks. In terms of catering, it launched the “Taste of China” series featuring eight major cuisines, complementing the “Hong Kong Style” and “Global Flavors” series, using taste buds as a medium to convey the beauty of Chinese culture and the fusion of world flavors.

On the ground service side, Cathay has continuously upgraded its premium lounge experience. In 2025, it completed renovations of the “Yat Lin Tong” VIP lounge at Hong Kong International Airport and the VIP lounge at Beijing Capital International Airport, focusing on human-centered design and high-quality service, creating a comfortable, exclusive resting environment akin to home, making travel a pleasant experience starting from the ground.

Cathay Beijing VIP Lounge

High-quality service supply ultimately translates into impressive operational performance. Cathay Group’s full-year 2025 performance report released on March 11 shows that the group (including airlines, subsidiaries, and affiliates) achieved a net profit of over HKD 10.8 billion, a 9.5% year-on-year increase. Notably, Cathay’s performance has steadily grown for three consecutive years, with a cumulative net profit surpassing HKD 30 billion, demonstrating resilience and growth vitality.

Cathay Group Chairman Rupert Hogg stated that the reasonable enhancement of capacity, steady growth in passenger traffic, and sustained strong demand for freight are the core factors driving the group’s record performance.

Currently, Cathay has entered a new stage of steady development. Under a long-term investment plan exceeding HKD 100 billion, the company is steadily advancing key projects such as new aircraft acquisitions, lounge upgrades, and digital innovation, with the strategic goal of becoming “the most loved service brand by customers.”

Industry awards also confirm Cathay’s unwavering commitment to providing excellent service. Following last year’s recognition as one of the top three “World’s Best Airlines” by Skytrax, recently, at the “2026 Global Best Airlines” selection organized by the international airline safety and product rating agency AirlineRatings, Cathay ranked second as the “World’s Best Full-Service Airline,” and with its new Aria Suite business class, it won the “Best Business Class in the World” award, as well as the “Best Airport Lounge Brand” award.

Cathay’s practice demonstrates that upgrading service quality is key to unlocking consumption potential and promoting economic circulation. When “quality” deepening and “quantity” expansion work in tandem, and when cultural experiences are deeply integrated with travel services, air travel is no longer just about space displacement but becomes a main force connecting a better life and boosting consumption.

Adhering to opening-up and serving the new dual circulation pattern

Openness is a distinctive feature of contemporary China and the core driver and essential requirement for civil aviation development. As an international aviation hub, Hong Kong is not only a key node in global air transport but also a platform for the aggregation and circulation of people, goods, capital, and information worldwide. The “14th Five-Year” Plan explicitly supports Hong Kong’s consolidation and enhancement of its status as an international financial, shipping, trade center, and international aviation hub; and encourages Hong Kong and Macau to deeply participate in high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road.

As an international airline group rooted in Hong Kong, backed by the motherland, and connected to the world, Cathay leverages the unique advantages of Hong Kong International Aviation Hub to actively serve the national strategy of high-level opening-up. It continues to expand its global route network, steadily advance its layout in Belt and Road partner countries, and optimize its network and service upgrades to help build a new development pattern of mutually reinforcing domestic and international circulations.

As a Hong Kong-based airline, Cathay plays the role of an “air bridge” facilitating two-way exchanges and transit for passengers between China and abroad. It always regards serving the national strategy of high-level opening-up as its mission, continuously deepening its global route network, steadily advancing its layout in Belt and Road countries, and contributing to the new development pattern of mutually promoting domestic and international circulations through comprehensive network optimization and service upgrades.

In regional connectivity, Cathay has improved the multimodal transport network in the Greater Bay Area, creating a three-dimensional transportation system of sea, land, and air, facilitating travel between Hong Kong and major cities within the region; it has opened 22 mainland cities with 24 destinations, operating 330 flights weekly between the mainland and Hong Kong, making it the airline with the most flights connecting the two, achieving efficient regional linkage.

Regarding global route network expansion, in 2025, Cathay added destinations such as Dallas, Munich, and Brussels, increasing European destinations to 12, and continuing to expand its North American and Oceania networks. By the end of 2025, its route network covered over 100 passenger destinations worldwide, with nearly 30 Belt and Road partner countries.

Freight logistics are an important support for the “dual circulation” and a key link to ensure the stability of industrial and supply chains. The “14th Five-Year” Plan explicitly calls for establishing a diversified, resilient international transportation corridor system, promoting cross-border transportation infrastructure connectivity, and fostering healthy and orderly development of international air freight.

The opportunities brought by China’s high-level opening-up have enabled more and more goods to ride the fast train of supply chain efficiency. In summer 2025, a batch of live lobsters from Melbourne, Australia, was transported via the “Air-Land Fresh Products Express,” the first of its kind, with rapid customs clearance after direct transfer from aircraft to refrigerated trucks, quickly reaching cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

As the first airline to operate this express route, Cathay Cargo relies on its extensive multimodal network in the Greater Bay Area to build an efficient channel for high-quality fresh goods to China, accelerating freight flow and effectively reducing customer costs.

While facilitating the import of fresh goods, Cathay Cargo also transports Chinese cultural treasures to the world. In 2025, ten Terracotta Warriors and over 200 cultural relics arrived in Australia for exhibition. Based on professional solutions such as “Cathay—Special Cargo Transport” and “Cathay—Valuable Items Transport,” it customizes dedicated shipping plans, with a professional team strictly overseeing each step to ensure the safety of cultural relics, helping Chinese culture shine abroad.

Cathay Cargo’s freighter

Perishable goods, valuable items, pharmaceuticals, animals, and other cargo are often precious and special. Reliable and excellent transportation solutions are crucial, and the confidence behind “professionalism makes the possible” depends on technology as the core engine. Cathay Cargo’s “Smart Cargo Tracking” system uses low-power Bluetooth data loggers to allow customers to monitor real-time GPS location, temperature, and humidity of cargo, ensuring full transparency and control. Its new digital booking platform “BookCargoEasy” mimics the simple interface of online passenger ticketing, making fare transparency and instant booking confirmation available 24/7, greatly improving service efficiency and customer experience.

Hong Kong Airport was ranked the 14th busiest cargo airport globally. As Hong Kong International Airport’s largest cargo service provider, Cathay Cargo connects to over 40 destinations and utilizes the group’s passenger flights’ belly capacity to reach more than 100 destinations worldwide. From valuable artworks to temperature-sensitive vaccines, from multimodal logistics to smart supply chains, Cathay Cargo’s extensive network and professional solutions support the stability of industrial and supply chains, providing a solid foundation for the mutually reinforcing dual circulation.

Outstanding service capabilities have earned Cathay Cargo numerous international accolades. Recently, in the “2026 Global Best Airlines” selection by AirlineRatings, Cathay Cargo was awarded the “Global Best Cargo Brand Operator” prize; previously, in 2025, it was named “Cargo Operator of the Year” by the industry authority magazine Air Transport World (ATW).

People-oriented, building a comprehensive talent development system

High-quality development is not only about economic scale growth but also about the warmth of development. Talent is the primary resource for high-quality growth. Only by unleashing the creative vitality of every worker and fully harnessing every bit of intelligence can the strength of talent empower the quality of development.

Over the past 80 years, Cathay has grown from a small airline into a global brand, supported by continuous investment in talent and a strong, cohesive professional team.

Cathay continues to expand its channels for attracting and cultivating mainland talent. Since launching its first mainland recruitment plan in 2023, the group has employed about 4,000 mainland employees across roles in flying, cabin services, engineering, and digitalization. It plans to continue recruiting, aiming to hire approximately 3,000 more worldwide by 2026. With new IT offices in Guangzhou and Shenzhen, Cathay’s mainland IT team now numbers around 200, working closely with Hong Kong headquarters to accelerate digital transformation. Additionally, Cathay has deep strategic collaborations with Civil Aviation University of China and Civil Aviation Flight University of China, jointly launching the “Chinese Cultural Education and Training” program to cultivate high-quality civil aviation talents from the source.

“Previously, I was just an aviation enthusiast with an interest, never considering aviation as a career. After participating in the ‘Leap for Dreams’ program, I started to think about turning my hobby into a profession,” said Wu Wenshuo, now a second officer at Cathay. Coming from Shanghai, he was introduced to the industry through Cathay’s “Leap for Dreams—Let Dreams Take Off” program in mainland China, eventually choosing to study aviation and becoming one of Cathay’s first mainland intern pilots in 2023.

Cathay’s youth aviation education program “Leap for Dreams” (I Can Fly), launched in 2003, has trained thousands of students, many of whom later joined the aviation industry, allowing their youthful dreams to soar on wings of aviation.

A professional and excellent pilot team is the foundation of high-quality civil aviation development. Cathay is committed to cultivating top-tier pilots and reserving high-quality civil aviation talents. Through the “Intern Pilot Program,” it provides comprehensive training support, enabling students to complete theoretical studies in Hong Kong and worldwide, and conduct flight training overseas, solidifying their flying skills.

Cathay Group CEO Rupert Hogg and students at Adelaide Flight Training School

From aviation enthusiasts to professional pilots, the path from dream to reality is built by Cathay’s growth ladder. From “Leap for Dreams” igniting youth aviation dreams, to “Intern Pilot Program” paving career paths, and deep talent sourcing through mainland recruitment and university partnerships, Cathay has established a full-chain talent development system covering “dream awakening—career cultivation—talent expansion—ecosystem layout.” This system helps realize countless aviation dreams and continuously supplies high-quality talent, injecting strong human resources into the industry’s high-quality development.

As time progresses and new chapters unfold, in 2026, Cathay Group will continue to advance with higher service quality, more extensive route networks, and sustainable development concepts, steadily progressing on the new journey of high-quality growth. From Hong Kong to the mainland, from the Greater Bay Area to the world, Cathay will keep serving as an “air bridge” connecting China and the world, fulfilling its value in serving national strategies and contributing civil aviation strength to China’s modernization.

Eighty years ago, with a plane flying from Sydney to Shanghai, Cathay’s journey of connecting the world began. “2026 marks Cathay’s 80th anniversary. We will continue to leverage our unique advantages of ‘rooted in Hong Kong, backed by the motherland, and connected to the world,’ using Hong Kong as an aviation hub to link mainland China and the world, contributing to our country’s high-quality development and high-level opening-up,” said Cathay China Mainland Director Zheng Jiajun.

Published

Editor: Wang Dan

Proofreader: Zhang Liyuan

Review: Su Fang