Cathay Pacific is in talks to buy another 14 aircraft in the near term.
Hong Kong's flag carrier declines to say what type or make they would be, with chief operating officer John Slosar adding that the discussions are ongoing and will be announced shortly.
They are not likely to be either the Airbus A380 or Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental, with Slosar saying that the carrier's existing orders for Boeing 777-300ERs are sufficient to meet their current long-haul fleet replacement plans.
Cathay said yesterday that it is adding 27 widebodies worth HK$51 billion ($6.55 billion) at list prices to its fleet under agreements inked with Airbus, Boeing and International Lease Finance (ILFC).
These are an additional 15 A330-300s and 10 more 777-300ERs direct from the manufacturers, and an extra pair of A350-900s under a deal with ILFC. The airline says it will take delivery of all of the aircraft before the end of 2015.
The latest orders follow deals announced by Cathay in September for 30 A350-900s to be delivered from 2016 to 2019 and six 777-300ERs to be delivered between 2013-2014.
Cathay says today's new orders will "enable the airline to replace older, less fuel-efficient aircraft as they are progressively retired from the fleet and at the same time continue with the expansion of its passenger network". The airline plans to retire 21 Boeing 747-400 and 11 Airbus A340-300 aircraft before the end of the decade.
Cathay says it now has a total of 91 new aircraft on order for delivery by 2019.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
