Cathay Pacific in market for new mid-sized widebody planes

SEOUL (Reuters) - Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways said on Thursday it was evaluating options for new orders of mid-sized widebody aircraft, after a recent run of purchases to renew its fleet.

Bloomberg on Wednesday reported Cathay had issued a so-called request for information from Airbus and Boeing for new aircraft to replace some of its older mid-sized widebody jets, representing the first step in a possible purchase process.

"We are evaluating options for a versatile, mid-sized widebody aircraft that can undertake a range of missions and grow our passenger and cargo business," Cathay said in a statement to Reuters.

The airline had first publicly flagged the possibility of a mid-sized widebody contest in late 2022.

It had 43 A330s with an average age of nearly 15 years in its fleet as of June 30, 2023. Newer generation replacement options for the planes typically include Airbus A330neos and A350s as well as Boeing 787s.

Cathay last month placed a firm order to purchase six A350 freighters, with the right to acquire 20 more, as it replaces its ageing Boeing 747 cargo jets.

In September 2023, it ordered 32 Airbus A320neo and A321neo single-aisle aircraft, expected to be delivered by 2029.

Cathay's order book, which stands at more than 70 aircraft, also includes 21 Boeing 777-9 passenger planes scheduled to be delivered from 2025.

Cathay in August said it aimed to rebuild its capacity to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2024. In June, its cargo operations were at 72% of 2019 capacity, and passenger capacity was 57% of 2019 levels.

(Reporting by Lisa Barrington in Seoul; Editing by Jamie Freed)