The appointment of John Slosar to succeed Tony Tyler as chief executive of Cathay Pacific is no great shock. One Swire Pacific man, 30 years with various bits of the company, replaces another (33). Still, at a time when Cathay’s relations with Air China, its second-biggest shareholder with 30 per cent, have taken on an air of dependence, the transition represents a timely reminder from Swire (43 per cent) of exactly who is in charge.
Last year the Chinese aviation industry did Cathay two big favours. In September, the leasing arm of state-owned Bank of China, BoC Aviation, bought half a dozen aircraft from Cathay then leased them back, alleviating a looming cash crunch. A month earlier, Air China had relieved a very frail shareholder, Citic Pacific, of most of its 14.5 per cent stake in Cathay. That rescue act – which doubled the mainland airline’s representation on Cathay’s board from two seats to four – gave an insight into the strategy of Air China’s parent, the state-owned aviation holding company. If its own protégé could not ultimately become the dominant Asian carrier, it wanted exposure to one that certainly could.
For the 194-year-old British trading house, this is a good time to reassert control. Cathay’s passenger traffic is now well above pre-crisis highs, driven mainly by Chinese demand, while October’s increase in cargo volumes – ditto – was the biggest monthly rise in seven years. In his first press conference as