Cathay Pacific 777 9 Boeing
Cathay Pacific, together with its H1 2025 results, has announced that it exercised options for 14 Boeing 777-9 aircraft, booking Boeing’s fifth confirmed order for the 777X. The manufacturer’s orders and deliveries page showed that as of June 30, 2025, British Airways, China Airlines, Korean Air, and Qatar Airways had ordered 70 777Xs, which includes previously announced orders.
On August 6, 2025, Cathay Pacific announced the exercise of options for 14 additional 777-9 aircraft, increasing its total commitment to 35 units. Patrick Healy, the Chair of Cathay Group, explained that over the past few years, the group has undergone an all-encompassing fleet renewal and expansion plan, including orders for over 100 narrowbody, regional widebody, long-haul twin-aisle, and large cargo aircraft.
“This new order brings our total investment to well over HK$100 billion [$12.7 billion – ed. note], which also includes new cabin products, lounges, and digital innovation, further strengthening the Hong Kong international aviation hub and elevating the customer experience to new heights,” Healy added.
Cathay Pacific stated that its first 777-9, equipped with “a world-leading First class experience,” should arrive in 2027. Boeing is yet to certify the aircraft, with the plane maker having recently introduced a fifth test flight aircraft, registered as N2007L, into the certification program.
As of June 30, 2025, which does not include the additional 14 777-9s, Cathay Pacific had 93 aircraft on order, including two other widebodies: the Airbus A330-900 (30 aircraft) and A350F (six). Cathay Pacific and HK Express have a further 36 A320neo family aircraft, including the A321neo, on order, according to the group’s H1 2025 filing.
Cathay Group, which includes Cathay Pacific, Cathay Cargo, HK Express, and other companies and associates, ended the six months with revenues of HK$54.3 billion ($6.9 billion) and a net profit of HK$3.6 billion ($458.6 million), a slight improvement compared to the H1 2024 result.
During H1 2025, Cathay Pacific and HK Express grew their capacity, measured in available seat kilometers (ASK), by 26.3% and 38.3% year-on-year (YoY), respectively. Healy admitted that the period’s result “was driven by higher passenger volumes, albeit with lower yields, a consistent cargo performance, and lower fuel price compared with the same period in 2024.”
Ch-aviation records showed that Cathay Pacific, which includes the fleet of Cathay Cargo, last took delivery of a new Boeing aircraft on August 5, 2016, welcoming a 747-8F, registered as B-LJN, into its fleet. Between December 2018 and October 2019, the Hong Kong-based carrier took in five ex-Emirates 777-300s, registered as B-HNS, B-HNU, B-HNW, B-HNV, and B-HNX.
Meanwhile, Boeing’s records showed that Cathay Pacific’s last order from the United States-based plane maker was in December 2013. During that month, the aircraft manufacturer added Cathay Pacific’s one 747-8F, three 777-300ER, and 21 777Xs to its backlog.
For Boeing, which had a very muted presence at this year’s Paris Air Show following the crash of the Air India Boeing 787-8 on June 12, 2025, Cathay Pacific’s order would take the 777X’s order book to 84 confirmed aircraft in 2025. British Airways, China Airlines, Korean Air, and Qatar Airways have added six, 14, 20, and 30 aircraft each during the year, respectively, taking the total gross backlog of the 777X to 610. As of June 30, 2025, net orders for the 777X stand at 551, split between 43 777-8, 59 777-8F, and 449 777-9s.
Boeing’s Q2 2025 earnings release, which announced the manufacturer’s $612 million quarterly net loss and a six-month net loss of $643 million, with quarterly and half-year revenues climbing 35% and 26% YoY, read that the plane maker anticipates the first 777-9 delivery in 2026. The first 777-8F should be handed over to a customer airline sometime in 2028, while the first delivery of the 777-8 passenger aircraft “is not expected to occur before 2030.”
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