The airline Cathay Pacific will resume flights between Hong Kong, where it has its large operations center, and Barcelona this summer after having returned to Madrid in 2022. Spain is, along with the United Kingdom, the only European country where the company flies to two different destinations, a bet that facilitates the arrival of the long-awaited Asian customer.
Travelers from China and the rest of Asia with high purchasing power are key in the new tourism strategy of the Catalan capital, which seeks a change in model that leaves behind the mass business to promote another with greater added value. Paul Johannes, Vice President of Customer Travel
What demand forecasts do you have for the new route with Barcelona?
In Spain we first opened flights with Madrid in 2022 and we have quickly seen how demand was increasing. That's why we grew from one to the current three flights. We have studied the Barcelona market and we have identified that the demand also exists here. In fact, we officially announced the flight between Hong Kong and Barcelona a few days ago, but it was in the system before, for about two weeks, and there has already been interest in both directions.
Apart from Hong Kong, what other Asian markets can drive this route?
After the pandemic there is a desire to go out and rediscover the world. We see special dynamism in Japan, Korea and Taiwan, the Philippines and Thailand are also very important for Spain. Apart from this, Australia and New Zealand are doing very well. This is regarding the tourism segment. Business trips between Spain and Asia are also increasing, especially by SMEs.
What type of traveler do you expect to predominate with Barcelona? Will it be a basically tourist route?
There is a mix of profiles. We see potential for corporate clients, because Barcelona is very strong in fairs and conferences. At the tourist level, there is a high component of groups from Japan, Korea, Taiwan and mainland China. Added to this is that Barcelona functions a bit as a gateway to Europe. They come to Barcelona, but then they also go to Madrid or Italy.
Have connections with other European cities from El Prat influenced your decision to fly here?
Barcelona is a market in itself. The port has an important weight because some Asian travelers come here to take a cruise. But it is true that El Prat is very well connected to the short and medium range network. In addition, we fly to more places in Europe, so you can start your trip here and end it in another country to return to Asia, or vice versa.
How is your European network?
After the pandemic we have focused on rebuilding it. We now fly from Hong Kong to London, Manchester, Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt, Zurich, Milan, Madrid and Barcelona. Spain is the only European country, along with the United Kingdom, in which we have two destinations, with six flights a week in total. Before the pandemic we had eleven European destinations in total, and our goal is to rebuild the network.
When do you expect to reach pre-Covid global capacity levels?
We are at almost pre-pandemic levels. The intention is to achieve a similar level by the end of this year.
Has the pandemic changed travel patterns?
New types of passengers have emerged. Companies that were established during the pandemic and have the need to travel to Asia to see their suppliers and other partners. These are new customers for an airline like ours. Digital nomads, who fly around the world and work, or passengers who combine work and vacations in different parts of the world, have also increased. These are types of emerging traffic that were not so present before.
Many airlines are talking about a surprising increase in demand for business and first class travel. is it your case?
That's right, there is growing demand for business, and even for first in some markets. After the pandemic we have identified another change, that of the premium economy in long distance. People are willing to pay a little more to travel more comfortably on long trips.
