Cathay Pacific’s recent growth surge will ease next year, but new routes are still on the radar

After another big year of growth in 2025, Cathay Pacific is planning to scale back the rate of increase in 2026 as it looks to consolidate its recent gains.

Cathay Pacific had a relatively late start to its post-pandemic recovery. However, it has been making up for lost time since then, and this year it has surpassed its network growth goals.

Next year will see growth moderating, Cathay Pacific Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Lavinia Lau said on the sidelines of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) annual meeting in Bangkok on 15-Nov-2025.

The slowdown will allow the carrier to optimise and strengthen its expanded network. There will still be some growth, which will be mainly in the group's LCC subsidiary HK Express.

Like many other airlines, Cathay Pacific faces a degree of constraint on its growth due to aircraft delivery delays.

The carrier has been very busy on the order front, striking deals for more than 100 aircraft over the past two years.

But while some new narrowbodies are coming in the near term, it faces a widening gap until its next widebody aircraft are due for delivery.

The latest programme delays mean it could be up to two years before Cathay Pacific's Boeing 777-9s begin arriving.

To help bridge the gap, the carrier has embarked on major retrofit programmes in its current fleet.