Cathay Pacific introduces super long-range Airbus

Cathay Pacific introduces super long-range Airbus

Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific took delivery of the first of
six long-range A340-300 airliners from Airbus Industrie's
headquarters in Toulouse, France, last week. On Cathay's
invitation, The Jakarta Post's Pandaya covered the delivery and
hitched a ride on the aircraft's Toulouse-Hongkong maiden flight.
This is his report.

TOULOUSE, France (JP): As part of its US$9 billion replacement
program to prepare for 2000, Cathay Pacific has added two state-
of-the-art passenger aircraft to its fleet, the Airbus A330 and
A340.

The purchase of the 261-seat aircraft makes Cathay Pacific,
which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, the first
airline in the world to have these airliners.

The aircraft join the nine twin-engine A330-300s and four
smaller A340-200s at Cathay Pacific, which currently has 58
aircraft -- 39 of which are Boeings.

Under the fleet replacement program, the airline has placed
firm orders and options for more than 60 wide-bodied aircraft up
to the year 2000.

The aim is to replace the Lockheed L1011 TriStar, the three-
engined, 280-seat aircraft that became Cathay Pacific's backbone
in the 1980s.

Cathay Pacific's A330s, and its Boeing 777s, replace its
Lockheed L1011 TriStars. They will serve those regional routes
for which the Boeings would be too big and inefficient.

"The A340 can do this, but its main purpose is to serve
nonstop long-haul routes," said Rod Eddington, Cathay Pacific's
managing director.

In 1989, Cathay Pacific signed an order for nine Airbus A330-
300s for delivery in 1995/1996 to replace its fleet of 17
TriStars. It took the first delivery of an A330-300 last year and
the rest are expected to be delivered by next year.

The airlines placed an order for six A340-300s in late 1993.
Until it took the first delivery last week, it had been leasing
four smaller A340-200s for two years.

The brand new wide-bodied A340-300 airliner can fly non-stop
14,500-kilometer services, linking Hong Kong with Toronto,
Melbourne, Zurich, Rome, Taipei, Jakarta, Nagoya, Sapporo and
Osaka.

"People want a frequent non-stop service. The economics of the
A340 allow us to serve destinations competitively that are not
commercially viable with other equipment. It enables us to offer
customers a good choice of destinations," Eddington said.

Cathay Pacific's A340-300 is configured with 12 first class
seats, 28 business class seats and 221 seats in the economy
class.

The first class features fully reclining sleeper seats with
74-inch pitches between rows. The business class is divided into
two areas with 50-inch pitches, and the economy class has 32-inch
pitches.

The airline's A340-300 is among the first fitted with personal
television systems, or PTVs, in all classes. Airline officials
said the company will spend about US$150 million on fitting
personal television sets into its fleet by next year.

The personal TVs have nine channels, offering Asian feature
films, Hollywood action flicks and "Cathay Kids", classic
children's films and cartoons.

Cantonese and Mandarin films are dubbed into English. Cathay
Pacific claims to be the first to screen Hollywood films dubbed
into Cantonese.

For air-to-ground telecommunications, the A340-300 aircraft
has six telephones and one fax machine, operated by the Cabin
crew upon request.

The A330 and A340 aircraft's long, thin flexible wings and the
onboard systems are designed to help dampen noise and absorb
turbulence.

"This aircraft give passengers possibly the smoothest ride on
any aircraft today," Eddington enthused.

Airbus Industrie, the world's second-largest passenger
aircraft maker after Boeing, touts the A340-300 as the quietest,
most comfortable, fuel efficient and environmentally friendly
airliner in the sky.

"The loudest noise you'll hear is cabin crew chatting behind
you," quipped Tony Hellyer, Cathay Pacific product manager.