Cathay Pacific Airway’s debut at O’Hare Airport two months ago is a strategic move by a new player at O’Hare that has attracted passengers from not only Chicago but elsewhere in the country.
The airline offers direct daily service between Chicago and Hong Kong.
The Hong Kong-based airline landed on Chicago, the sixth North American city to feature passenger service, because O’Hare is one of the biggest hubs for airlines such as American, with whom Cathay is partnering.
An analyst said everyone wins through the deal.
“Chicago itself doesn’t have enough traffic to support non-stops to Hong Kong,” said Michael Boyd, an aviation analyst in Denver. “But when you put the connecting traffic it will be connecting to its Oneworld partner, American Airlines, in Chicago, plus its own connections in Hong Kong, it should be a very profitable route for them.”
The non-stop flights take 15 hours from Hong Kong to Chicago and 16 hours in the opposite direction, at least five hours shorter than indirect flights O’Hare passengers previously experienced. United Airlines was the only carrier providing non-stop service on the route before Cathay.
Amanda Niem, a student from Hong Kong who attends college in Chicago, said she was extremely happy when she heard of Cathay’s new route and had taken it when she returned to school in September.
“The planes are cleaner, [offer] better service, better food, wide movie selection, just more comfortable in general,” she said. “I guess the only disadvantage would be that it's slightly more expensive.”
Another Hong Kong resident in Chicago agreed.
“It has great service, just unparalleled by other airlines that run this route,” said Chi Kong Fu, another student.
But Boyd said the competition is not a zero-sum game, as Cathay’s service can draw passengers who would not have taken the route before, rather than only taking away United’s customers.
“This will divert, for example, people flying from places like Buffalo. Today they may be connecting over other cities to get to Hong Kong, now they will connect over Chicago,” he said. “So overall I think it is going to be a win-win for [Cathay and United].”
United officials did not return calls this week seeking comment.
Cathay’s spokeswoman, Elin Wong, said the new service plays an important role in Cathay’s growing network in North America.
“We can say the performance of the new Chicago service is satisfactory,” she said.
“We see Chicago as a market with great potential,” she said. “Together with our growth in Asia we hope we can contribute to the growing business and leisure market between the two continents.”