Cathay Pacific will launch a seasonal non-stop service to cosmopolitan Cape Town later this year, directly linking one of South Africa’s biggest business and leisure tourism destinations with Hong Kong, for the very first time.
The three-times-weekly service launches on 13 November 2018 until 18 February 2019 and will run alongside Cathay Pacific’s existing daily non-stop flights to Johannesburg. The new service will be operated by state-of-the-art Airbus A350-900 aircraft.
Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Officer Rupert Hogg said: “We are very pleased to be able to expand our services in Africa, a booming aviation market. Growing our reach to destinations that are not otherwise served from Hong Kong creates considerable new opportunities for business, trade and tourism, in addition to strengthening our home hub.”
He added that the new service will meet customer demand for travel to the Western Cape throughout the southern hemisphere’s peak summer months, as well as provide an additional option for South African-based travellers looking to fly on Cathay Pacific to Asia and beyond via Hong Kong.
Alan Winde, Western Cape Minister of Economic Opportunities, said: “We are thrilled that Cathay Pacific is launching a direct flight to Cape Town. This will allow us to unlock massive tourism potential from the East, a market which is already very important to us.”