Latest news with #Cathay
Calgary Herald
22-05-2025
- Calgary Herald
Flying 12 hours in business class — an honest review of the $6000 experience
Article content Despite the pod appearing a bit dated, I appreciated the amount of storage space. If you like to keep several items handy – for me, it's a laptop, AirPods, chargers, vitamins and skincare – you won't be fussed. Article content Article content As a frequent flier, I always look forward to a long-haul flight amenity kit. Cathay partnered with British-based Bamford, offering mini-sized versions of the brand's cooling gel, multi-purpose balm and pillow mist, leaning into a wellness theme. Initially, I wanted to see products from a more well-known luxury brand – but the products were quality and completely elevated the overnight experience. The leather case was a nice touch, too, and easy to reuse as a makeup bag or for smaller toiletries. Article content In-flight service began with an always-appreciated hot towel, warm nuts and a pretty swanky meal service for being 30,000 feet above the ground. Among the many options, I opted for an appetizer and main that are tied to two well-known Hong Kong Michelin star restaurants: the chilled abalone and cucumber with black vinegar from Duddell's and the pan-seared Chilean sea bass with saffron sauce from Louise, which is my all-time favourite restaurant in Hong Kong. Article content Article content The Duddell's abalone certainly lived up to the hype, and is arguably one of the best items I've enjoyed in the sky on any flight. Louise's sea bass was decent, however, a tad bland, and not quite to par with what I've come to know and love from the restaurant itself (which I highly recommend on a visit to Hong Kong). Regardless, it was still an elevated choice considering – and I would get it again, but maybe add a little salt. Cheese, Häagen-Dazs ice cream or fresh fruit followed, for some simple but solid dessert options (although the ice cream was very frozen – beware!). Article content Dining has a leisurely vibe in-air on Cathay Pacific, which is ideal for someone who wants to immerse themselves in the entire multi-course experience. For those looking to get in a full night's sleep or get some work done, however, be mindful of the time to get dishes cleared. I'm a fast eater, so I opted to use the call button to speed up the process. Article content Article content Article content Where the menu truly stood out was on the all-day options, which could be requested at any time during the flight. Noodles (a popular choice) and a burger with fries are on the docket, both of which were excellent. Key detail: the fries were delicious and not soggy. Article content For those looking to indulge in a drink, the cocktail and wine lists were extensive, edging out Canadian competitors. The Chateau Lynch-Bages from Pauillac is a tried and true choice, but for those feeling experimental, Chinese wine – not readily available in North America – is available. On the non-alcoholic front, the Hong Kong-style milk tea appeared to be a popular choice with those on my flight.
TECHx
16-05-2025
- Business
- TECHx
Cathay Adopts AI-Powered Automation with UiPath
Home » Smart Sectors » Travel & Hospitality » Cathay Adopts AI-Powered Automation with UiPath UiPath (NYSE: PATH), a leading enterprise automation and AI software company, announced a key collaboration with Cathay, the Hong Kong-based premium travel lifestyle brand. The goal is to drive positive change through AI-powered automation. UiPath revealed that Cathay is strengthening its position as a digital leader by improving customer experience, safety, operational efficiency, productivity, and compliance. This progress was recognized at UiPath FORWARD, the company's global AI and automation event in Las Vegas. At the event, Cathay was named a UiPath AI25 Award Winner. The annual program honors 25 companies that use AI and automation to enable strategic change and deliver bold outcomes. Aldric Chau, General Manager Digital at Cathay, expressed pride in the recognition. He reported that the company's investment in AI and automation has led to strong results. He added that Cathay will continue to innovate with UiPath to unlock the full potential of automation, AI, and generative AI. Richard Chen, Regional Vice President, Greater China at UiPath, stated that AI-powered automation helps streamline workflows, boost accuracy, and drive cost savings. He highlighted its importance for the aviation sector as global travel rebounds after the pandemic. Cathay began using the UiPath Platform in 2018. Today, it operates more than 160 bots across 20 departments. These bots assist employees with routine tasks, allowing them to focus on higher-value work. • Cathay uses UiPath Action Center, AI Center, and Document Understanding tools. • Over 72% of SAMEA region invoices are processed automatically, reducing time by fourfold. Cathay also automated its flight re-seat notification process. This task is now 20 times faster than the manual method. In back-office operations, automation cut tax declaration prep from three weeks to just two days. Automated flight schedule reporting also cut time by 50% while improving compliance. The company introduced its first Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) use case to handle invoices. This has improved speed and allowed teams to focus on strategic tasks like vendor engagement. UiPath reported that these efforts are helping Cathay turn AI potential into measurable business outcomes. Looking ahead, Cathay plans to explore new areas with UiPath, such as process mining and further IDP use cases. This continued collaboration aims to empower staff and advance Cathay's digital transformation journey through AI-powered automation.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Analysis-China-US air freight tumbles on 'de minimis' tariff; airlines adjust routes
By Lisa Barrington SEOUL (Reuters) -Air freight capacity between China and the U.S. dropped by almost a third after a tax-free exemption for low-value items out of China was removed this month, industry data showed, denting a significant revenue stream for Asia's major airlines. Air cargo carriers including Cathay Pacific, China Southern, Air China and Korean Air have profited from booming volumes of e-commerce, led by fast-fashion retailers such as Shein and PDD Holdings' Temu, flowing from China to the United States. A trade war detente on Monday between Washington and Beijing temporarily lowered reciprocal tariffs from more than 100%, prompting U.S. firms to resume orders from China. However, the "de minimis" duty-free access for low-value shipments from China and Hong Kong into the United States remains suspended and could weaken demand longer term, industry experts said. Air cargo capacity is starting to recover since Monday's agreement, said Marco Bloemen, managing director of air cargo consultancy Aevean. "But on the e-commerce side, though, volumes have been temporarily affected." The sudden drop in cargo demand for U.S. shipments and dim prospects for a solid rebound create headwinds for airlines in Asia as they grapple with both a fall in passenger air fares and concerns over a global recession. Cargo makes up around a quarter of Cathay and Korean Air's overall revenues. Cargo yields and revenues at a number of Asia's airlines grew significantly faster than their passenger segments last year. Last year low-value e-commerce shipments - at 1.2 million tonnes - made up 55% of goods shipped from China to the United States by air, compared to just 5% in 2018, an Aevean analysis showed. Buoyed by strong air freight demand out of Asia since the pandemic, freight majors like Hong Kong-based Cathay, Singapore Airlines and Taiwan's China Airlines have ordered large, new freighters for the busiest trade routes. But with "de minimis" exemptions unlikely to return, the likes of Shein and Temu are increasingly looking to ship products in bulk via sea to the U.S. or other warehousing locations instead of making individual shipments by plane direct to consumers. Reuters reported on Thursday that fast fashion retailer Shein was leasing a huge warehouse in Vietnam in a move that could reduce its exposure to unpredictable U.S.-China trade tensions. Cathay, which operates from the world's largest cargo airport, warned last month it was expecting air cargo demand between mainland China and the U.S. to weaken from this month, as tariff hikes take hold. Cathay did not immediately respond to a request for comment. SCRAMBLE Operators flew 26% less freight capacity from China and Hong Kong to the United States between the May 2 "de minimis" suspension and the May 13 detente compared with a year earlier, data from air cargo consultancy Rotate showed. Capacity was down 30% compared with an average of the previous four weeks. South Korea, a cargo hub which has benefited from the increasing volume of e-commerce out of China, saw a 22% fall in U.S.-bound capacity between May 2 and 13. Korean Air said in mid-April it expected volatility in air freight demand to intensify as tariffs were imposed. The falls reverse a trend of capacity being on average 15% higher than the year prior during the preceding 12 months from China, and 14% higher from South Korea. U.S.-headquartered Atlas Air, which operates the most capacity on the Greater China to U.S. route, saw a 28% fall in capacity from May 2 to 13 from a year prior, Rotate data showed. Cathay Pacific saw a 2% drop, and Chinese state-owned China Southern's capacity fell 30%. For airlines with freighter aircraft, cargo was a lifeline during the pandemic when nearly all international passenger flights were grounded. Several Asia-Pacific airlines said in financial reports covering the period before the tariffs took effect they would seek to move capacity to other routes to deal with fluctuating demand. Asia-focused freight forwarder Dimerco this month said several scheduled freighter services were cancelled on the China-U.S. corridor, with some capacity rerouted to Mexico and Latin America. Roughly 70 freighters stopped flying for a while on the Transpacific routes, but some were deployed in other markets, Bloemen said. Countries in Southeast Asia stand to gain should manufacturers choose to make or ship goods to the United States from countries other than China - although many of those countries also face new tariffs. Singapore Airlines, based in Southeast Asia, said shifts in trade flows might open new opportunities. "Issues associated with tariff changes are not likely to deliver a shock quite the same as COVID-19, but it does mean it will be a lot more uncertain," Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong told media on Friday. Sign in to access your portfolio
Techday NZ
16-05-2025
- Business
- Techday NZ
Cathay boosts efficiency with expanded automation & AI tools
Cathay is utilising enterprise automation and artificial intelligence from UiPath to improve operational efficiency, reduce manual work, and enhance the travel experience for both passengers and staff. In response to an increase in air travel demand, Cathay is updating its operations by deploying automation technology across various business functions, including customer service and flight operations. The company has implemented UiPath's automation solutions in over 20 departments, leveraging more than 160 bots to support daily employee activities. Cathay's digital initiatives have been recognised with the UiPath AI25 Award, which honours customers using a combination of AI and automation to drive significant organisational outcomes. The award identifies 25 companies globally for their strategic application of these technologies. Aldric Chau, General Manager Digital, Cathay, said, "We are honoured to be an AI25 Award Winner and are pleased to witness that our investment in AI and automation has turned into fruitful results." "We continue to innovate through our close collaboration with UiPath to harness the full power of automation, AI and generative AI to ultimately deliver significant outcomes for our customers and to our internal operations. By leveraging AI and automation, we aim to maintain our digital leadership by prioritising a strong customer-centric approach and continuously pursuing innovation." Richard Chen, Regional Vice President, Greater China at UiPath, commented, "AI-powered automation can help organisations streamline workflows and drive efficiencies, which has huge benefits such as enhanced customer and employee experiences, substantial cost savings, improved accuracy, and increased productivity to drive greater business value." "It is particularly important for the aviation sector that needs to significantly scale up in order to satisfy the huge demand as travel resurges after the pandemic. We are proud to enable the digital transformation journey at Cathay and look forward to working closely together to continue delivering the strongest outcomes for its employees and customers." Cathay began adopting the UiPath Platform in 2018 and now deploys advanced UiPath tools, including Action Centre, AI Centre, and Document Understanding to automate manual and repetitive tasks. These initiatives form part of Cathay's broader digital transformation strategy as the airline rebuilds operations post-pandemic, aiming to redirect employee focus onto higher-value activities. UiPath's AI and automation have played a key role in managing high-volume, high-intensity processes within Cathay's business units. Through UiPath Document Understanding, the company has reduced the time required for document processing, improving accuracy and handling a larger volume of processes. Cathay uses automation to streamline its flight re-seat notification process for passengers, with bots enabling the task to be completed around 20 times faster than previous manual email notification methods. Automation has also improved back-office operations; for instance, the preparation of tax declarations, which once took approximately three weeks, can now be completed in one to two days using automated systems. UiPath automation has helped Cathay strengthen compliance, particularly in flight scheduling, where automated reporting has cut reporting time by 50% and reduced human error. The airline has also introduced Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) for invoice handling in the SAMEA region. Currently, more than 72% of these invoices are processed automatically, reducing overall processing time by a factor of four and freeing staff for more strategic tasks such as managing vendor relationships. The collaboration between Cathay and UiPath includes exploration into future opportunities in intelligent document processing and process mining. The airline intends to continue this partnership to empower staff and advance its organisational capabilities as the company adapts to ongoing digital change.
Business Wire
15-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Cathay Scales Up to Meet Increased Travel Demand with Enterprise AI and Automation from UiPath
HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--UiPath (NYSE: PATH), a global leader in agentic automation, today announced that it is helping Cathay, the Hong Kong-based premium travel lifestyle brand to drive positive changes and strengthen its position as a digital leader in customer experience, safety and operational efficiency, productivity, and compliance through AI-powered automation. Cathay was named an UiPath AI25 Award Winner at UiPath FORWARD, UiPath's flagship global AI and automation event in Las Vegas. The annual award program identifies the 25 most innovative UiPath customers using a combination of AI and automation as a strategic change enabler to accelerate bigger and bolder outcomes. 'We are honoured to be an AI25 Award Winner and are pleased to witness that our investment in AI and automation has turned into fruitful results,' said Aldric Chau, General Manager Digital, Cathay. 'We continue to innovate through our close collaboration with UiPath to harness the full power of automation, AI, and generative AI to ultimately deliver significant outcomes for our customers and to our internal operations. By leveraging AI and automation, we aim to maintain our digital leadership by prioritizing a strong customer-centric approach and continuously pursuing innovation.' 'AI-powered automation can help organizations streamline workflows and drive efficiencies, which has huge benefits such as enhanced customer and employee experiences, substantial cost savings, improved accuracy, and increased productivity to drive greater business value. It is particularly important for the aviation sector that needs to significantly scale up in order to satisfy the huge demand as travel resurges after the pandemic,' said Richard Chen, Regional Vice President, Greater China at UiPath. 'We are proud to enable the digital transformation journey at Cathay and look forward to working closely together to continue delivering the strongest outcomes for its employees and customers.' Embracing AI-powered automation for efficiency and innovation As part of its comprehensive digital transformation strategy, Cathay recognizes the power of AI and automation in realizing this vision. Cathay started adopting the UiPath Platform back in 2018. Today, Cathay is a digital leader that employs UiPath automation solutions across more than 20 departments with over 160 bots to support employees' day-to-day work. These solutions are essential for Cathay as they scale up during their rebuilding efforts following the challenging pandemic period. By leveraging tools such as UiPath Action Center, AI Center, and Document Understanding, Cathay is able to relieve employees of manual and repetitive tasks, allowing them to focus on more value-added activities. This not only enhances customer and employee satisfaction but also increases efficiency and drives significant operational improvements across its services. Turning AI potential into tangible business outcomes UiPath AI and automation is instrumental in helping Cathay address the challenges associated with the high-volume and high-intensity process across various business units. By leveraging the capabilities of UiPath Document Understanding, Cathay trims document processing for repetitive and manual tasks, resulting in higher accuracy, faster processing times and increased process volume. For example, Cathay is leveraging bots to automate its flight re-seat notification process for passengers. Today, with automation, the process is approximately 20 times faster than manual email notifications. It also enhances operational efficiency in back-office functions. Before automation, tax declaration preparation took employees around three weeks. With the introduction of automation, this timeframe cut down to just one to two days. Additionally, UiPath bolsters compliance through automated reporting for flight scheduling, which reduces human error and ensures adherence to regulatory requirements, saving Cathay 50% of the reporting time. Cathay has also implemented its first Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) use case to handle invoices for the SAMEA region. Currently, over 72% of invoices are processed automatically, reducing processing time by four times. This advancement not only increases efficiency but also enables its team to focus on more strategic tasks, such as investing in vendor relationships and queries. AI and automation are redefining what's possible in business, and UiPath is playing a crucial role in positioning Cathay as a digital leader driving transformative change. Looking ahead, Cathay will continue to join forces with UiPath in exploring new opportunities in areas such as intelligent document processing and process mining. In doing so, it aims to empower its employees and advance the organization in a rapidly evolving digital landscape and achieve outcomes that were unimaginable before. About the UiPath AI25 Awards The UiPath AI25 Awards acknowledge customers using AI and automation to supercharge productivity; transform customer and employee experiences; deliver substantial return on investment; and support corporate, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives. Customers across the globe were invited to submit applications detailing how they have used AI and automation to redefine what's possible—not just in business, but in the way we work and live. The 25 winners were selected by a panel of expert judges for effectively articulating the business drivers, implementation, and results of their UiPath use case. About UiPath UiPath (NYSE: PATH) is a global leader in agentic automation, empowering enterprises to harness the full potential of AI agents to autonomously execute and optimize complex business processes. The UiPath Platform™ uniquely combines controlled agency, developer flexibility, and seamless integration to help organizations scale agentic automation safely and confidently. Committed to security, governance, and interoperability, UiPath supports enterprises as they transition into a future where automation delivers on the full potential of AI to transform industries. For more information, visit About Cathay Cathay is a premium travel lifestyle brand that brings together all that we love about travel with everyday lifestyle. The range of products and services includes flights, holidays, shopping, dining, wellness and payment. All our travel lifestyle offerings are designed to bring customers exciting offers, rewards, experiences and hand-picked partners. Flights are provided by Cathay Pacific, the home airline of Hong Kong and a founding member of the oneworld global alliance. For over 78 years, Cathay Pacific has been connecting our home city of Hong Kong to the world. The Cathay Group also comprises low-cost carrier HK Express, express all-cargo carrier Air Hong Kong and various subsidiaries.
