Hong Kong's Cathay offers first post-Covid voluntary unpaid leave in 2 straight quarters
The company informed its Hong Kong-based cabin crew that applications were open for the fourth quarter of this year via an internal memo, a copy of which was seen by the South China Morning Post.
A source told the South China Morning Post that the move followed the offering of a first round of unpaid leave of up to three months this year, between July and September.
A spokesman later confirmed that the measure was entirely voluntary and on a short-term basis, with the first round of leave introduced earlier.
"To provide our cabin crew with greater flexibility to meet their personal needs, especially with the year-end festive season approaching, we are pleased to announce the opening of voluntary unpaid leave applications for up to three months from October to December 2025," it said.
The South China Morning Post also saw a copy of an internal memo issued on May 16 that told staff about the first period of unpaid leave.
Cathay sent the memo about the second round on Aug 1, before announcing its half-year interim results on Wednesday. It reported a 1.1% year-on-year rise in net profit to HK$3.65 billion (US$465 million) and announced plans to order another 14 new Boeing 777-9 aircraft.
The deal boosts the group's overall investments over the coming years to more than HK$100 billion, which would cover the purchase of 100 aircraft.
In a reply to the South China Morning Post, the Cathay spokesman said the leave initiative was not new.
"[It] had been a long-standing arrangement designed to provide our cabin crew with greater flexibility to meet their personal needs while ensuring adequate resources for our operating schedules," he said.
"Travel demand this summer remains robust and we will continue to add more flights and destinations for our customers this year.
"Cathay Pacific reaffirms its confidence in maintaining scheduled operations during peak travel periods and holiday seasons while upholding high service standards."
The carrier last rolled out a series of voluntary unpaid leave for pilots and cabin crew in 2020, amid the pandemic, when the airline was struggling to survive. In 2009, the carrier also introduced a special leave scheme of up to four weeks as an attempt to reduce costs during an economic downturn.
A flight attendant, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said this unpaid leave programme differed from those commonly offered to cabin crew, saying the current one was formally announced via an internal memo and had a longer duration of up to three months.
"Normally, we can always make individual requests for unpaid leave, but the approval process is very stringent. Not everyone can successfully apply for it," she said.
"But this time is different as it offers up to three months of unpaid leave through a memo and it sounds like they welcome cabin crew to apply for it, like those introduced during the economic downturns, such as the pandemic.
"I will definitely apply for at least one month of unpaid leave so I can take a long holiday with my family."
Normally, the maximum period allowed for unpaid leave is one month.
Another crew member said the scheme was very popular among employees, as it allowed them to attend to their personal needs, which demonstrated that the company had hired sufficient staff.
Last year, the group recruited nearly 5,000 cabin crew globally, taking the total headcount to more than 30,000.
Group chairman Patrick Healy said on Wednesday the company's record-high recruitment levels in recent years were "now behind" them, with recruitment and training activities now stabilising in line with its growth plans.
"The period of quite extreme recruitment and training numbers that we've seen over the past couple of years in the building since Covid is now behind us," he said.
"Of course we're still hiring; we're still training; we're still expanding, but it's more at a level of historical norm in line with our long-term growth trajectory."
An HSBC analyst report on Thursday downgraded the group's stock rating to "reduce" from "hold", predicting a 9% to 12% decline in recurring profits over the two years to 2027 due to expected lower passenger and cargo yields and higher operating expenses.
"Cathay Pacific's passenger yields faced headwinds from its continued flight additions in the long-haul routes, where yields are inherently lower than short-haul," it said.
"On the cargo side, its second half of the year outlook is clouded by mounting headwinds. Uncertainty from trade tensions threatens demand, particularly on Transpacific routes, while increasing belly-hold capacity from the ongoing normalisation of passenger flights will pressure cargo freight rates.
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