Cathay Pacific Asia Miles - Which CX Flight is the most Profitable???

Which CX flight is the most profitable???

-my guess is HKG-YVR, HKG-LHR, and maybe HKG-JFK

Why do you think HKG-YVR is the most profitable? Because the YVR based crew cost less? It certainly couldn't be from the fares -- lots of heavy discounting out of YVR.

Anyone who knows cannot reply on this thread, as the info is a trade secret. Cargo probably makes the difference between routes for profitability. My own guess is that HKG-SFO is more profitable due to the cargo into/out of Silicon Valley.

i always heard it was hkg-tpe - short sector - high frequency - high fares - high load factors on high capacity aircraft

Which CX flight is the most profitable???

-my guess is HKG-YVR, HKG-LHR, and maybe HKG-JFK

Any 744 CX flight that is full is profitable.

I can't imagine HKG-YVR being among the most profitable as one of the two daily frequencies is a 2-class A340 with no F, the other frequency is a 747 that splits premium-cabin sales with the NYC market, and a lot of CX coach tix are sold at discounts through Vancouver bucket shops to the Asian community.

I would guess HKG-SFO, HKG-NRT, perhaps HKG-SIN/BKK/TPE where they can hit businesspeople hard for short turnaround riding in the front cabins.

SIN and BKK are indeed good ones, but have been offered recently at very low fares in Y (some below 1000 HKD!), so my guess would be NRT or TPE.

Thought it was HKG - TPE as well given the high frequency and large number of passengers. Everyone who wants to go between the two countries have to transit through HK or Macau and it's been a great, steady business for years. Remember reading some research to say CX stand to lose a lot of its profits if direct flights between China and Taiwan is allowed.

my guess would be HKG-TPE and HKG-LHR.. maybe also HKG-NRT

I can't imagine HKG-YVR being among the most profitable as one of the two daily frequencies is a 2-class A340 with no F, the other frequency is a 747 that splits premium-cabin sales with the NYC market, and a lot of CX coach tix are sold at discounts through Vancouver bucket shops to the Asian community.


FYI, CX discounts in almost all of the markets it flies to. Sometimes even on the web. Check out those webfares in F/J out of Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy etc.

They discount out of Australia and the UK too (you just need to know where to look). You can get F from LHR to SYD for only about GBP 4200 from certain agents in LHR.

The only places where they probably don't discount is ex-HKG and ex-USA (at least the premium cabins).

Everyone is listing routes, while the question asks for flights. Assuming that we're talking about routes, I would have to imagine that LAX-HKG is up there too. It's currently a monopoly route, is 3x daily and possibly going 4x, and its loaded to the gills with cargo and lots of J/F passengers.

One would have to add to this question;

---Most profitable route per pax!--- This because a route might be the most profitable, but if you have to fly it 10x a day, it also brings lots of cost.
My reason for suggesting NRT was that it only gets 4 flights a day and it is quite a short flight. Fares in HKG and Japan are quite high.

Assuming that we're talking about routes, I would have to imagine that LAX-HKG is up there too. It's currently a monopoly route, is 3x daily and possibly going 4x, and its loaded to the gills with cargo and lots of J/F passengers.
What makes you believe LAX is possibly getting a 4th flight? The third flight (CX885) is having a hell of a time filling up and selling seats. My brother (a TA) checks on the availability (on sabre) of these flights regularly and during the peak summer period (Mid June - Mid July), CX885 never came close to being sold out. During an extended period earlier, this flight was only 40% filled in capacity. If CX plans to do anything with the status quo of the LAX market, it will more likely be to reduce frequency as oppose to increasing it.

I still stand by my belief that increasing LAX to 3x daily is one of the dumbest move and they are suffering for it when one looks at the loads of the 3rd flight.

I was also surprised when CX announced 3X daily for HKG-LAX but I guess there maybe pressure from other OW members like AA and LA. Of course I could be wrong.

For the most profitable route I also think it's HKG-TPE. I have travelled frequently on this route and to me it's just like bus service - packed for most of the flights and it runs every hour (or less). Plus, cabin crew have to do several turn-arounds.

HKG-TPE-HKG would be one of the most profitable.

HKG-BKK/SIN would be operating at a loss due to the competition of the low cost carriers of which CX has had to match its fares to them.

I've been told that CX is quite happy to have a light pax load on the 3rd flight as it allows overbooking on the more popular flight times plus provides cargo lift -- and the cargo more than covers the cost of operating the flight. Maybe when they buy more freighters the cargo value will be less, but for now it seems to be a smart arrangement and not a dumb move at all. Just goes to show that running an airline requires a lot of calculations.

I honestly think the LAX flights are profitable due to the cargo loads afforded by the Boeing 747s. According to some non-reve trying LAX to HKG, they often do not get on even there are empty seats. The cargo is more important. As folks mention here, CX is short of cargo planes, so it will need to rely on the belly of these Boeing 747s to carry these goods.

But then a fourth LAX to HKG seems to be too much... I will be surprised if it indeed happens, but not shocked... perhaps the premium load is also pretty good.

I wonder if LHR is a money making route... these flights seem to be busy at all times.

Carfield

Many people have said that CX HKg-YVR-HKG flights are very full most of the time due to not much competitive airlines..Sometimes summer and ecspecially winter fares have gone VERY high..that has led me to believe it earns quite a profit for the airline...But sometimes when i am at HKG, when i take the LHR flight, its always very fulll....

I was on CX 885 in March 2006 and load in F was only 2;;; I will be taking same flight on AUGUST 1 and will report back on loads. Seems to me that loads are indeed light in this afternoon LAX departure...

Nobody on this board can ever know which flights are the most profitable. I don't believe any airline releases this type of infomation.

About CX 885, you'll notice that the reverse of this flight, CX884, the 1320 departure from HKG-LAX is the most popular of the HKG-LAX flights.

About CX 885, you'll notice that the reverse of this flight, CX884, the 1320 departure from HKG-LAX is the most popular of the HKG-LAX flights.
WRONG!! If you've checked the flight loads regularly, CX882 and 880 fill up much faster than 884. Those intra-asia flights connect more/better to 882/880 than 884. 884 just like 885 is struggling to fill the seats.

Several years ago CX stated (in a interview) that the HKG/TPE routes were the most profitable.

I normally fly to 3 destinations on CX out of HKG to TPE, YYZ and NRT.
Assuming all three flights are the same airplane, same # of passengers and burns the same rate of fuel.

Dest Miles Avg price (coach)
---------------------------------
TPE 1002 HKD$2200
YYZ 15592 HKD$11000
NRT 3900 HKD$3900

You can see CX makes the most $/mile on their TPE route.
Maybe that's why there are 10 flight a day to TPE. :rolleyes:

I normally fly to 3 destinations on CX out of HKG to TPE, YYZ and NRT.
Assuming all three flights are the same airplane, same # of passengers and burns the same rate of fuel.

Dest Miles Avg price (coach)
---------------------------------
TPE 1002 HKD$2200
YYZ 15592 HKD$11000
NRT 3900 HKD$3900

You can see CX makes the most $/mile on their TPE route.
Maybe that's why there are 10 flight a day to TPE. :rolleyes:


Nice to know the average fares you pay, but the cost of a short haul flight are in take-off and landing, not in cruise (and HKG - TPE has very little of that). I am quite sure that TPE is the most profitable route for CX with 10 flights a day.

The much more interesting question is however; which flight is most profitable per passanger?

PS
Your distances are completely wrong. You can look them up on the CX website.

I'm sure CX is hoping China and Taiwan continue their diplomatic issues so that people travelling between China and Taiwan still need to travel via HK. If China and Taiwan ever resolve their differences, CX share price will probably drop.