Sources said the changes were formulated in an effort to convince passengers to shell out more, including for economy tickets offering greater flexibility, rather than instinctively opting for the cheapest fare – a move that may prove unpopular in some quarters.
However, the changes will also position Cathay favourably compared to some global rivals – such as Singapore Airlines and Emirates – by offering a more generous baggage allowance for almost all fliers.
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Currently, economy, premium economy, business and first class tickets come with baggage allowances of 30kg, 35kg, 40kg and 50kg, respectively. Economy class is further broken down into three types of fares: “save”, “core” and “flex”, all of which enjoy the 30kg baggage allowance. While the latter two tickets are more expensive – with flex fares sometimes more than twice as much as save ones – they also offer travellers more flexibility.
Under the changes, Cathay will rebrand the three economy fares “light”, “essential” and “flex”. The baggage allowance for light fares will be cut by more than a fifth, to 23kg, while essential and flex tickets will get two bags weighing 23kg each, for a total of 46kg – a more than 50 per cent increase.
The baggage allowance for premium economy, meanwhile, will increase by nearly a third, to 46kg, while business and first class passengers will be allowed to check bags weighing up to 64kg – up 60 per cent and 28 per cent, respectively.
Cathay has not yet set a formal date for when the changes will take effect, but the shake-up will impact most flights worldwide, with only New Zealand and the Americas, which operate on a different baggage allowance system, to be excluded.
Cathay Pacific on Monday confirmed its intention to change baggage allowances.
“We are reviewing our economy class fare structure and all the fare attributes to provide more choices for customers in accordance with their needs, and baggage allowance is one of them,” a company spokeswoman said. “The change is planned to be rolled out progressively in different markets and more details will be shared in due course.”
Cathay lost HK$21.6 billion (US$2.8 billion) last year, and is expected to unveil another substantial loss on Wednesday for the first six months of 2021.
While competitors’ baggage allowances vary, they also tend to offer differing amounts for various types of economy tickets. However, under the planned changes, Cathay’s offerings would put it ahead in terms of weight for all but the cheapest fares.
Singapore Airlines, for instance, allows travellers opting for promotional economy fares to check bags weighing up to 25kg – a fraction more than Cathay’s planned 23kg. Those opting for more flexible economy tickets get 30kg, far less than the 46kg Cathay plans to offer.
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Premium economy fliers on Singapore Airlines get 35kg, while business and first class travellers get 40kg and 50kg, respectively – both well under the 64kg to be offered by Cathay.
Emirates, meanwhile, offers its four different types of economy ticket holders 20kg, 25kg, 30kg and 35kg, respectively. Business and first class customers also get 40kg and 50kg each.
A Cathay source said passengers who typically carried less luggage would still benefit from the lower prices, while the airline would seek to “upsell” those who needed more.
Cathay last changed its baggage allowances in the summer of 2016, giving customers flying in all cabin classes an extra 10kg per bag.
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Cathay to cut baggage allowance for cheapest fares, but boost for others
