As protests in Hong Kong continue, China appears to be further clamping down on Cathay Pacific. After the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) ordered the airline to submit information on the flight crews that will operate within China精东影业 airspace due to 鈥渟afety concerns鈥, now Cathay Pacific was allegedly forced to make changes in the Board of Directors. Rupert Hogg, the Chief Executive Officer of the company, and the Chief Customer & Commercial Officer, Paul Loo have been replaced by Augustus Tang and Ronald Lam, respectively. Mandy Ng Ronald Lam as the CEO of Hong Kong Express, the low-cost subsidiary of Cathay Pacific.
Cathay精东影业 Board of Directors 鈥渂elieves that it is the right time for new leadership to take Cathay Pacific forward鈥, even though both Hogg and Loo were announced as the management that would lead the airline精东影业 鈥渢hree-year corporate transformation programme鈥 The transformation program, which is due to be completed by the end of 2019, has produced fruitful results 鈥 Cathay Pacific managed to achieve a net profit in 2018 for the first time since 2015 and has steadily grown in H1 2019. The company reported a net profit of $172 million (HK$1,347 billion).
Rupert Hogg, the departing CEO, commented that 鈥渢hese have been challenging weeks for the airline and it is right that Paul [Paul Loo 鈥 ed. note] and I take responsibility as leaders of the company鈥. The chairman of the company, John Slosar noted that the recent events 鈥渉ave called into question Cathay Pacific精东影业 commitment to flight safety and security and put our reputation and brand under pressure鈥, thus it was 鈥渢ime to put a new management team in place who can reset confidence and lead the airline to new heights鈥. , both Hogg and Loo were forced out of the company after CAAC called up Merlin Swire, the chairman of Swire Pacific and explained to him that management changes had to come at the airline group. Swire Pacific is the biggest shareholder of Cathay Pacific.
Cathay Pacific already had to change its stance on the protests: from John Slosar saying that the airline 鈥渨ouldn鈥榯 dream of telling them what they [Cathay Pacific employees 鈥 ed. note] have to think about something鈥, to Cathay Pacific that the Hong Kongese carrier 鈥渋s deeply concerned by the ongoing violence and disruption impacting Hong Kong鈥 and condemns 鈥渁ll illegal activities and violent behaviour鈥. The airline two pilots in accordance to the CAAC精东影业 鈥渟afety risk warning鈥. It seems like the protests will also hit the airline financially, as the events in Hong Kong are 鈥渁dversely impacting forward bookings鈥. Furthermore, Cathay Pacific a total of 272 flights, which affected more than 55,000 passengers, as protestors assembled at Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) on August 12 and 13.
And now, with the changes within the Board to comply withChina精东影业 wishes, as , Cathay Pacific might need to look back at the drawing board once more to ensure profitability. While the previous management laid out great foundations as it reduced the group精东影业 expenses and stabilized the group精东影业 finances, the changes and the ongoing protests might negate all the positive work that has been done over the past two years.
