Cathay assures passengers of smooth travel over LNY
Cathay Pacific on Sunday promised passengers they would be able to travel as planned over the Lunar New Year holiday, saying it had taken steps to ensure its flights would operate normally during the upcoming peak travel season. Hong Kong's flagship carrier came under fire last month for cancelling flights over the Christmas period, when it said more pilots than expected had called in sick.  The group's CEO, Ronald Lam, told passengers that their travel plans for the Lunar New Year holiday next month would not be affected, as the airline had learnt from its experience over the Christmas period and was deploying additional standby pilots.  But he said Cathay would still be combining about six pairs of flights on non-peak days over the next two months and that affected passengers would be contacted as soon as possible so alternative flights could be arranged or refunds made. Cathay Pacific also apologised to passengers for the disruption to its operations over the Christmas period.