Hong Kong based carriers, including Cathay Pacific, will be receiving a unique one-off government subsidiary, based on the number of aircraft they have.
For each large aircraft registered in the city, the government will provide HKD $1 million ($129,000) to the airline. Aircraft with a “maximum total weight authorised” of more than 54.5 tonnes would be considered as large aircraft.
According to the SCMP, officials have decided that the Airbus A320 would be counted as a large aircraft. For a small aircraft, the airline will receive HKD $200,000 per aircraft.
The Cathay Pacific Group, comprising of Cathay Pacific, Cathay Dragon, Hong Kong Express and Air Hong Kong, are expecting to receive HKD $236 million. As a group, they currently have 236 aircraft.
Cathay Pacific’s hometown rival, Hong Kong Airlines, are expecting to receive HKD $32 million.
In addition to the above payment, The Hong Kong Airport Authority has said that they would also be buying 500,000 air tickets to inject cash into local carriers.
Cathay Pacific welcomed the financial aid provided by the government and airport authority. However the SCMP noted that this assistance pales in comparison to the estimated HKD $46.5 billion ($7 billion) in expected passenger revenue losses this year.
H/T: SCMP/Danny Lee
