If you can’t beat ‘em, buy ‘em. Cathay Pacific may purchase a stake in Hong Kong’s only budget airline. That would give it welcome exposure to a burgeoning low-cost market it has struggled to service itself.
To mangle another aphorism: it’s an ill headwind that delays all flights. HNA is considering selling a shareholding in Hong Kong Express that is unlikely to cost more than a few hundred million dollars. HNA needs the cash. The over-leveraged conglomerate is selling assets valued at $50bn following a little gentle arm-twisting by the Chinese government. A bond issue by a subsidiary of HNA flopped last week.
Cathay‘s own market failure involved huge losses on fuel hedges. At the same time, an airline once seen as luxurious has drifted into the middle market. Now Cathay is in recovery mode and can contemplate a bet on budget travel. Cathay Dragon, its regional carrier, once looked like the vehicle for this. The parent has shifted some destinations to Dragon and increased its fleet. This has meant cost cuts, an increase in revenue and access to a slightly wider customer base.