Cathay Pacific To Axe Its Cathay Dragon Brand?

Cathay Pacific recently updated the branding, both name and livery, of its Dragonair subsidiary bringing it more aligned with its parent.

Now, SCMP reports that Cathay Pacific has decided to cut the brand and let 6,000 employees globally go. It is unclear what happens to the most recently acquired HK Express-brand.

Here’s an excerpt from the SCMP:

Cathay Pacific is the group’s largest airline, with 132 passenger planes focused on long-haul trips and serving key Asian cities. Cathay Dragon has 48 aircraft primarily flying to mainland China and other regional destinations.

Sources said although the Cathay Dragon brand, with at least 3,000 employees, would be sacrificed, staff and resources of the two airlines would be merged.

Cathay Pacific said on Monday it would operate at less than half capacity throughout next year compared to pre-crisis levels, underscoring the slow pace of recovery, which could take until 2024 to return to normal if industry predictions were accurate.

Conclusion

Not sure if this Dragonair to Cathay Dragon exercise was worth it when the brand is canned less than four years after its introduction?

The reason that is often given for the Dragonair-brand was that it is more well known within mainland travelers than Cathay’s own, and the employees worked on less onerous contracts.

Considering that the air travel will be depressed for several years, and Cathay plans to fly half of its usual schedule by the end of 2021, perhaps it is the right time to consolidate the brands and have one set of employees and planes.

I never quite understood the difference between these two. From the passengers’ perspective, they were practically the same, although Cathay Dragon tended to serve less “prestigious” and more leisure-oriented destinations.

Time to rebrand the HK Express as CX or Cathay Express?