Global slowdown hitting harder than 9/11 and SARS: Cathay

HONG KONG: The global economic crisis is hitting Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific harder than the SARS outbreak and September 11 attacks on the United States, the airline's head said on Friday.

Chief executive Tony Tyler made the claim as the company said it would be slashing flights and asking all 17,000 staff to take unpaid leave after it announced a 22-percent drop in first-quarter revenue.

And just weeks ago the firm posted an annual loss of more than a billion US dollars in 2008, its first full-year loss for a decade as demand fell off due to the economics slowdown as well as losses on fuel hedging bets.

"SARS was more dramatic in terms of revenue but it had a finite end and when it did we recovered quickly because the economy was quite strong -- 9/11 was a similar thing," Tyler told a press conference.

"The problem with this one is there is no visibility on how long this will last and that makes it more challenging than anything I have experienced."

The 9/11 attacks on the United States in 2001 left thousands dead and hit the global aviation industry for months.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) killed 299 people in Hong Kong when it struck in 2003, battered the city's economy and led to a plummet in its key tourism industry.

Earlier this year Cathay Pacific shelved plans to build a new cargo terminal at Hong Kong International Airport for two years.