Cathay Pacific Confirms A350 Flight to London Gatwick

Cathay Pacific Airways (CX) Thursday announced that it will launch a new four-times-weekly service between Hong Kong and London's second airport Gatwick (LGW) next year, using its brand new Airbus A350-900 aircraft.

Pending government approval, Cathay Pacific will be the only airline that flies non-stop between Gatwick and Hong Kong.

Commencing on September 2, 2016, the new flights CX349/344 will operate four times a week. Cathay Pacific's new flights will initially depart Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 0:55 a.m. and arrive at Gatwick at 7:10 a.m., while the return flights will then leave Gatwick at 12:35 p.m. and land back in Hong Kong at 7:25 a.m. the following morning. The inbound flight will then move to an 11:35 a.m. departure for the winter 2016-17 schedules.

According to the carrier, the Hong Kong-Gatwick service will complement the airline's current five-times-daily service to Heathrow Airport for a total of 39 flights a week between Hong Kong and London - more than any other carrier.

In addition to serving London, Cathay Pacific also offers four flights weekly from Hong Kong to Manchester.

Cathay Pacific will serve the Gatwick service with its brand new A350-900 aircraft featuring a refreshed Business Class cabin as well as new Premium Economy Class and Economy Class seats, the airline said in a statement.

"Cathay Pacific has been flying between London and Hong Kong for 35 years and our commitment to the UK market remains strong," said the airline's general manager for Europe, Neil Glenn. "We are delighted to launch a non-stop service from Gatwick to Hong Kong, using our new state-of-the-art A350 aircraft, which will help meet increasing demand for both business and leisure travel between the Asia Pacific region and the UK."

Cathay Pacific has 22 A350-900s and 26 A350-1000s on order. The first A350-900 aircraft is expected to arrive at March 2016 after last minute changes to the business class seat, according to CAPA.

The airline had previously remarked about a February-2016 delivery date for its first A350, which will feature a three-class configuration with 38 seats in business (1-2-1), 28 in premium economy (2-3-2), and 214 in economy.