Cathay luring back passenger

Cathay luring back passenger

JAKARTA: Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific has begun a campaign to
lure back Indonesian passengers after the World Health
Organization (WHO) lifted its Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
(SARS) travel advisory on the territory.

Richard Reed, Cathay Pacific's Indonesia country manager, said
that from mid-June to Sep. 15 the airline would offer round-trip
flights between Hong Kong and Jakarta, Surabaya and Denpasar for
US$328.

The airline will also add flights from Jakarta and Denpasar to
Hong Kong. From Jakarta, Cathay will have nine flights a week, an
increase from the seven during the height of the SARS outbreak.
While from Denpasar the number of flights will be increased from
four to six.

"We don't expect the passenger traffic to come back overnight,
but the campaign is to kick-start the recovery program," he said
during a media briefing on Monday.

Cathay is among the many airlines in Asia that have borne the
brunt of the SARS outbreak. During the height of the SARS scare,
the airline's passenger numbers plunged from an average of 35,000
a day to 6,000 a day.

From Indonesia, the number of passengers dropped by 85
percent, forcing the airline to halve the number of its flights
to and from the country. SARS caused Cathay financial loses of $3
million a day worldwide. --JP