Cathay Pacific lands more flights in Melbourne

Cathay Pacific will increase its flights to Melbourne, bringing more visitors to the state, growing exports and creating more than 850 new jobs in aviation and tourism.

Cathay Pacific will expand its Hong Kong to Melbourne services from four to seven flights a week starting next month, with plans to offer 21 flights a week by March 2024.

The extra flights will add more than 365,000 seats to Melbourne each year and generate more than $172 million for the Victorian economy once fully operational.

Hong Kong is a major global financial centre and its international airport, where Cathay Pacific is based, is a key hub for cargo and passenger connections to North Asia, Europe and North America.

As one of the world’s leading international cargo airlines, Cathay Pacific’s extra flights will significantly boost our exporters’ access to those key markets with its fleet of Airbus A350s and Boeing 777s able to carry 25 tonnes of air freight on each passenger flight.

Almost 110,000 visitors from Hong Kong came to Victoria in 2019, contributing $243 million to the state’s economy. Of these, 62 per cent came for a holiday, 31 per cent to visit family and relatives and seven per cent for business.

Cathay Pacific adds to the growing list of major airlines the Victorian Government has secured to expand their direct services to Melbourne this year including Qantas, Singapore, United, Emirates, Qatar and Etihad.