Cathay Pacific first to Auckland with the A350

by Payload Asia

Cathay Pacific has become the first international airline to operate the state-of-the- art A350-900 to New Zealand as Flight CX197 arrived at Auckland International Airport today (Friday, 28 October) after making its overnight journey from Hong Kong.

Cathay Pacific, which has been serving New Zealand for 33 years, has five A350s in operation, and by the end of next year will have taken delivery of a total of 22. The aircraft, which will form the backbone of the airline’s mid-size long-haul fleet, replaces the A340-300 on the Auckland route.

cap: New Zealand’s Minister of Transport, the Honourable Simon Bridges (third from left), welcomes the first A350 aircraft to Auckland with (from left) Cathay Pacific director sales & marketing Dane Cheng, chief pilot Airbus Gavin Haslemore, senior captain Colin Davis, country manager, New Zealand & Pacific Islands Mark Pirihi and general manager Southwest Pacific Nelson Chin.
cap: New Zealand’s Minister of Transport, the Honourable Simon Bridges (third from left), welcomes the first A350 aircraft to Auckland with (from left) Cathay Pacific director sales & marketing Dane Cheng, chief pilot Airbus Gavin Haslemore, senior captain Colin Davis, country manager, New Zealand & Pacific Islands Mark Pirihi and general manager Southwest Pacific Nelson Chin.

Auckland becomes the third long-haul destination on Cathay’s expansive global network to welcome the A350, after Düsseldorf and Gatwick. The aircraft will be deployed on routes to Rome and Paris in the months ahead, followed by Vancouver and Tel Aviv in March next year.

Cathay Pacific commenced operations to Auckland in 1983 with a weekly service operated by a Boeing 747-200 aircraft. A daily service was launched in 1998 using the Airbus A340-300, while 2010 saw the airline introduce a second daily flight during the New Zealand peak summer period. Since 2013, Cathay Pacific has been able to offer up to three flights between Hong Kong and Auckland per day.