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Cathay posts record loss of more than $1 bln

Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airlines posted a staggering half-year loss of over a billion U.S. dollars on Wednesday (August 12).

The company's chairman Patrick Healy called the first six months of 2020 quote "most challenging that the Cathay Pacific Group has faced in its more than 70-year history."

Like the rest of the travel industry amid the global health crisis, the year has been a hammer blow for Cathay, which has reduced its passenger flights to a barebone schedule.

Passengers are few - and border restrictions around the world make travel difficult.

Cathay has received a $5 billion dollar rescue package led by Hong Kong's government.

So far, it hasn't made large-scale job cuts, but it has warned it is reviewing all aspects of its business model with an update expected by the fourth quarter.

It's reached a deal with Airbus to delay delivery of new planes to try and save cash, and says it's in talks with Boeing to do the same.

It's also begun to send a third of its fleet, which is mostly grounded, outside of Hong Kong to store them in less humid conditions.

According to an average of 13 analysts polled by Refinitiv expects, Cathay is expected to report a full-year loss of nearly $1.8 billion dollars.