Cathay Pacific quietly took a major step toward rebuilding Hong Kong’s talent pipeline this morning with the arrival of a brand-new CAE 7000XR Airbus A320neo full-flight simulator at the airline’s Flight Training Centre in Tseung Kwan O.
The equipment is the first A320neo-specific device in the city and arrives just months before sister carrier HK Express starts taking delivery of more than 30 A320neo family jets. Until now, Cathay crews bound for the new narrow-bodies had to travel to CAE’s centres in Kuala Lumpur or Zhuhai for type-rating courses, adding cost and eating into the limited training slots that the Group desperately needs after three years of pandemic-driven attrition.
Cathay executives told invited media that the simulator forms part of a HK$100 billion (US$12.8 billion) capital programme that also covers 100+ new aircraft, refreshed cabins, the reopening of all lounges at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) and a new digital passenger platform. "Having the device here future-proofs our ability to ramp up pilot recruitment while keeping Hong Kong at the centre of our training ecosystem," said Chief Operations & Service Delivery Officer Alex McGowan.
Beyond its obvious safety advantages, the new simulator carries strategic weight for corporate mobility managers. It signals that Cathay – still the dominant network airline at HKIA – is on track to restore pre-Covid capacity, deepen regional connectivity and add secondary-city links that are critical for multinationals with operations across the Greater Bay Area and Southeast Asia. Companies planning 2026 travel budgets can therefore factor in greater seat availability, more competitive fares and enhanced schedule options through Hong Kong.
The simulator will begin commercial training cycles in November. A320 family crews will move through recurrent training every six months, and Cathay expects annual throughput to exceed 2,500 pilot sessions by mid-2026, easing one of the largest bottlenecks to the carrier’s full recovery.
The equipment is the first A320neo-specific device in the city and arrives just months before sister carrier HK Express starts taking delivery of more than 30 A320neo family jets. Until now, Cathay crews bound for the new narrow-bodies had to travel to CAE’s centres in Kuala Lumpur or Zhuhai for type-rating courses, adding cost and eating into the limited training slots that the Group desperately needs after three years of pandemic-driven attrition.
Cathay executives told invited media that the simulator forms part of a HK$100 billion (US$12.8 billion) capital programme that also covers 100+ new aircraft, refreshed cabins, the reopening of all lounges at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) and a new digital passenger platform. "Having the device here future-proofs our ability to ramp up pilot recruitment while keeping Hong Kong at the centre of our training ecosystem," said Chief Operations & Service Delivery Officer Alex McGowan.
Beyond its obvious safety advantages, the new simulator carries strategic weight for corporate mobility managers. It signals that Cathay – still the dominant network airline at HKIA – is on track to restore pre-Covid capacity, deepen regional connectivity and add secondary-city links that are critical for multinationals with operations across the Greater Bay Area and Southeast Asia. Companies planning 2026 travel budgets can therefore factor in greater seat availability, more competitive fares and enhanced schedule options through Hong Kong.
The simulator will begin commercial training cycles in November. A320 family crews will move through recurrent training every six months, and Cathay expects annual throughput to exceed 2,500 pilot sessions by mid-2026, easing one of the largest bottlenecks to the carrier’s full recovery.
