Cathay London fares still sky-high

Cathay Pacific economy airfares for round trips between London and Hong Kong have soared to 2,364 (HK$21,936) as people - and students especially - try to head back to the SAR from Britain for the Christmas holiday.

That is twice the pre-pandemic price for a two-way seat.

Despite tickets dropping from a peak of HK$40,000 for an economy seat in September the holiday fares remain higher than the range of between HK$9,000 and HK$10,000 before the pandemic.

But prices are not deterring Hongkongers eager to come back after not returning for three years amid pandemic constraints now that authorities have scrapped hotel quarantine.

The Cathay booking site yesterday showed economy seats for Heathrow-Hong Kong flights on December 17 have been taken, leaving a handful of business seats costing 4,727 the only option.

A mother of a 14-year-old girl studying at a boarding school in the United Kingdom told The Standard yesterday that her daughter will return to the SAR on December 9 on a single-trip ticket costing HK$11,000.

"The tickets from the UK to Hong Kong have been very expensive amid the pandemic," the mother said. "If the airlines could lower the price for tickets it would be good news."

The mother said she had to buy a more expensive direct flight ticket as she worried it was not safe for her young daughter to transit alone in another city.

British Airways, which has suspended its flights to Hong Kong for a year, will resume regular services to the SAR next month, and the mother hopes fares will drop when various airlines restore flights between the United Kingdom and Hong Kong.

Samuel Chan Sze-ming, managing director of Hong Kong-based education consultancy Britannia StudyLink, told The Standard that he received inquiries from students who had difficulties trying to buy air tickets.

"Around 10 to 20 percent of overseas students in the UK chose to stay there for Christmas," Chan said. "Some have decided to visit friends in Europe during the Christmas holiday."

And many students who were returning to Hong Kong chose to take transit flights due to lower prices.

As the SAR has eased quarantine needs for arrivals that mean no hotel stays and limited restrictions on visiting places, Chan hopes more foreign airlines will resume flights to Hong Kong.

"I hope the airfare for round trips between the UK and Hong Kong can be reduced to HK$12,000 to HK$13,000," he said. "Before the pandemic we could sometimes buy round-trip tickets for HK$10,000."

He added: "Students who fail to secure a flight ticket to return to the SAR do not have to panic. They can stay in the UK or travel to Europe."

Chan noted that all young students studying in the UK have guardians, and they can stay with them during the holiday.

Cathay aims to have returned to pre-Covid flight levels by the end of 2024, but it was adding 3,000 flights from last month to next month to reach one-third of its goal.

And Cathay said on Monday it will be operating 75 return flights between London Heathrow and Hong Kong next month "in anticipation of the strong travel demand from students returning to Hong Kong for the Christmas and New Year holidays.

"This includes the recently added 13 return flights to and from London Heathrow and Hong Kong in December. There will also be days in December with three or even four return flights a day."

And there will be 19 return flights between Manchester and Hong Kong next month.

Meanwhile, a Hongkonger working in Sydney said she paid over A$2,700 (HK$14,245) for a Cathay round-trip ticket to return home next week.

She bought the ticket in August before Hong Kong eased quarantine, and the fare has now doubled for flights on weekends to A$5,751.

Price hikes are also impacting flights to Tokyo. A round-trip to the destination now costs nearly HK$11,500 - twice as much as pre-pandemic levels.

Still, people are still rushing out for long-awaited travels in the first long holiday since the lifting of hotel quarantine.

The Hongkonger in Sydney said she will visit Japan after Christmas and return to the SAR before the New Year. That round-trip fare cost over HK$10,000, she said.

But Hong Kong citizen Bobo Wei, who visited Okinawa and returned to Hong Kong recently, told The Standard she bought tickets from HK Express at a much cheaper price.

"I paid HK$2,700 for a round-trip ticket, including extra baggage charges," she said.

Wei added that the low-cost airline's round-trip tickets to Tokyo now cost only HK$3,900.