Cathay Pacific and its regional arm Cathay Dragon are letting flight crew take up to a month of unpaid leave. The offer, voluntary and open to both cabin crew and pilots, was first reported by the South China Morning Post. It arrives as the airline trims capacity after nearly eight months of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, its home market.
The airline’s own account is narrower. A spokesperson confirmed the unpaid leave but said it falls under “existing voluntary ‘lifestyle rosters’” already set up for Cathay Dragon crew. “Such rosters are open to application and allow crew to pursue interests of their choice while maintaining a balanced and rewarding lifestyle,” the spokesperson said. The statement went on: “We would like to reiterate that there is no compulsory unpaid leave for any employee groups of Cathay Dragon and Cathay Pacific.”
Airlines often do this. Unpaid leave of one to three months in quieter stretches, winter among them, is a common way to match crew numbers to the schedule, and many employees like it. Some carriers lean on seasonal contracts or temporary staff instead. Pilots are a different matter. Because of a worldwide pilot shortage, asking them to take time off is much rarer than asking cabin crew.
Growth plans cut
The pressure behind the offer is visible in the airline’s own numbers. Last November, chief commercial officer Ronald Lam said Cathay planned to shrink growth by 1.4 per cent during 2020. The original plan had called for adding as much as 3.1 per cent more capacity this year.
“Looking forward, we continue to see a significant shortfall in inbound Hong Kong advance bookings, particularly from mainland China and other regional markets, as compared to the same snapshot last year,” Lam said at the time.
Visitor numbers to Hong Kong have dropped by as much as 40 per cent in recent months. Arrivals from mainland China have fallen especially hard because of the protests.
The SCMP reported that a company-wide review of staffing needs is likely to wrap up soon. Until then, Cathay Pacific has frozen hiring of cabin crew and other workers it classes as “non-essential.”
