On April 16, Cathay Pacific Airways celebrated the recent expansion of its services to and from India at a special gala event in Delhi at night. Guest of honour at the event was Ms Eva Cheng, Secretary for Transport and Housing with the Hong Kong SAR Government.

Around 300 people attended the celebration, hosted by Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Tony Tyler. Among the guests were Indian government officials, members of the diplomatic community, and representatives from India's travel and freight industries.

Cathay Pacific is significantly expanding its services to and from India following the conclusion of a new air services agreement between the Hong Kong and Indian governments in December last year. By June it will have an additional 20 flights a week between the two places.

The number of flights to Delhi has already increased from four a week to 14 a week, while six more flights have been added to Mumbai making a total of 10 per week. In addition, a new four-times-weekly service to the city of Chennai will launch on June 2, while Cathay Pacific's sister airline Dragonair will launch a new daily service to Bengaluru (Bangalore) in late May.

Speaking at the gala event, Tony Tyler said: "When we received the news that the Indian and Hong Kong governments had reached an agreement to expand services between the two places we were naturally delighted - for our airline and also for the Hong Kong hub that we have been working so hard to develop over the years.

"Hong Kong is a superb hub but there is no doubt that it was underserved in terms of flights to and from India. That situation has improved drastically now and the flights being added by Cathay Pacific and Indian carriers will help to realise the full potential of trade and tourism between Hong Kong and India."

Guest of honour Ms Cheng said: "Hong Kong places great importance on the expansion of our aviation links with India both for tapping the huge prospects of the Hong Kong-Indian travel market, and for forging a stronger social and economic relationship with the country.

"Cathay Pacific has seized this golden opportunity to increase and enhance its services to both Delhi and Mumbai. It will also launch a new service to Chennai in June this year. We are equally pleased that airlines of India have also strengthened their services between India and Hong Kong. Looking ahead, I hope to see more competitive air services between India and Hong Kong."

Mr Tyler added that while the main focus of the service expansion has been on passenger flights, Cathay Pacific has also shown a clear commitment to expanding freighter services to and from India. Starting off with just one flight a week routed through Mumbai in 1994, the airline now operates a total of 22 freighters a week to the country and has become the number one foreign carrier in terms of cargo capacity and tonnage offered in the Indian market.

Photograph 1: Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Mr Tony Tyler was joined by Ms Eva Cheng, Secretary for Transport and Housing of the Hong Kong SAR Government, to dot the eyes of the lions at a ceremony held in Delhi to mark the airline's expansion of services to India.

Photograph 2: Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Mr Tony Tyler and Ms Eva Cheng, Secretary for Transport and Housing of the Hong Kong SAR Government, perform a traditional Indian lamp-lighting ceremony at the event held in Delhi to mark Cathay Pacific's expansion of services to India.