Event Speeches & Presentations Archive

Return to search/listings

Event Summary

Airlines contribute to 'great city' status, says Cathay Pacific CEO

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Cathay Pacific is the "biggest foreign revenue earner for Hong Kong, according to Chen — photo: Dave Roels

The great cities of the world are also major transportation hubs, the CEO of Cathay Pacific Airways told The Vancouver Board of Trade today. At a Pacific Economic Forum™ Dialogue Series sponsored by Vancouver Airport Authority, Philip Chen said that home carriers have a major role to play when bringing tourism, trade and investment to cities like Vancouver or Hong Kong.

"I still remember in 1997 before the reunification [of Hong Kong and China], I was called to the [then] chief executive’s office, and the question was very simple: 'How do we make Hong Kong a world-class city comparable to the Londons and New Yorks of this world?'"

Chen replied, "If you want to make Hong Kong a key city in the world, you have to make it an air transport centre. And if you look at all these big cities we talked about, they all have a very strong home carrier."

Ten years have passed since that conversation, and Cathay Pacific has since grown to be very successful. Said Chen, "Last year we had 60 billion [Hong Kong] dollars turnover, 70 per cent of that is actually sourced oversees. We are the biggest foreign revenue earner for Hong Kong."

According to Chen, who managed the airline through the Asian economic downturn, 9/11 and the SARS crisis, airlines are a logo, an icon of the country that they represent. They build up the home city as a hub, a transport centre.

"The more developed you are, and the stronger you are, the more people you attract. People still want to come to Hong Kong, still want to go to Tokyo, still want to go to London, and still want to go to Frankfurt," said Chen.

Chen believes that by investing in the infrastructure and the city itself through tourism and special events, Hong Kong will continue to be a place that people will want to visit. He took this approach after the 9/11 attacks when he managed Cathay Pacific’s "World’s Biggest Welcome Campaign," offering 10,000 free tickets for Hong Kong residents to invite friends and relatives to visit the city. It was a way to bring people back into Hong Kong.

Looking to the future, Chen said, "What we need is an open regime that allows us market growth with fair competition," adding, "Hong Kong is open and fair."

If Chen’s optimism is any indication of what’s to come for the carrier, the future for Cathay Pacific looks very promising. "We are very glad today when we look back 10 years ago. With the same determination, we want to look back 10 years from now and say that we have continued to do the right thing."

Return to search/listings

Copyright 1999-2009 The Vancouver Board of Trade. All Rights Reserved
Site Credits Privacy Policy