When will Cathay Pacific return to Adelaide?

While Cathay Pacific will restart flights between Cairns and Hong Kong on December 17, Adelaide is expected to remain off the map until at least 2025.

The South Australian capital continues to enjoy a steady reconnection with the rest of the world, with Emirates this month joining the likes of Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines on the departure board at Adelaide Airport.

However, according to 9News, Cathay “has postponed the reinstatement of its Adelaide service… until at least October 2025.”

“I know Cathay want to be back in this market, and the minute they have the equipment to do so, I’m confident they will be back,” Adelaide Airport CEO Brenton Cox told 9News on the occasion of Emirates’ return to the City of Churches.

A Cathay Pacific spokesperson told Executive Traveller the airline will “continue to regularly review our schedule and network, introducing new routes and frequencies in a measured and responsible manner.”

“While Adelaide is being considered, we do not have a definite timeline on a return to the city. We will provide more information at the appropriate time.” 

Speaking with Executive Traveller earlier this year, Cathay’s regional boss Frosti Lau noted “we are competing with aircraft resources and also looking at where are the opportunities” across the rest of the world, especially in North America and Europe.

In other words, every returning or new destination on Cathay’s network map has to battle for still-limited jets and crew.

And “we are not just looking at the old destinations, we are looking at new destinations”, Lau said – the latest of which is Riyadh, the capital and financial centre of Saudi Arabia, ahead of next year’s launch of Riyadh Air, with the promise of Boeing 787 ‘Mercedes Maybach’ business class suites.

Adelaide is also on the list for a reboot of international Qantas flights after new long-range Airbus A321XLRs arrive from early 2025.

“Internationally the XLRs will be able to enter markets we haven’t been able to commercially operate,” Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson told Executive Traveller on the sidelines of the launch of direct flights to Paris, name-checking Adelaide-Singapore as one example.

And while the first tranche of A321XLRs will carry domestic-grade business class recliners, lie-flat beds are being considered for ‘international’ A321XLRs.

As previously reported, Qantas opened a new Adelaide Qantas Club last week, with an all-new Business Lounge to follow in mid-2025.

Also read: The secret Qantas status match with top frequent flyer perks