HONG KONG: Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, in talks to buy low-cost carrier Hong Kong Express Airways, believes budget airlines have a"unique market segment" it does not capture at present, Chief Executive Rupert Hogg said on Monday .
"It does interest us," Hogg told Reuters of the budget airline sector during an interview in Singapore."We watch Singapore Airlines and Scoot; we can see they are trying to get connectivity between them." The potential acquisition comes as Cathay faces a more challenging outlook for revenue growth, according to Hogg.Higher airfare and cargo rates pushed revenue up 14.2 per cent in 2018, helping the airline last week report a swing to a US$300 million profit after two years of loss as a turnaround plan helped it cut costs and increase income.
The 18 analysts polled by Refinitiv I/B/E/S on average expect revenue at the airline to grow 3 per cent to HK$114.3 billion in 2019.