Cathay Pacific (CX, Hong Kong International) CEO Rupert Hogg told CNBC that the airline was already in talks with Boeing and other involved parties in preparation for the introduction of B777-9s.
"[We are] already in discussion on every aspect of that aircraft joining our fleet, with Boeing and others at the moment," Hogg said.
The carrier has twenty-one aircraft on order directly from Boeing. Cathay Pacific placed the order in 2013 already with deliveries due to begin in 2021. The aircraft will most likely replace some of the oldest B777-300(ER)s.
Hogg underlined in the wake of the two fatal crashes of another one of Boeing's new types, the B737-8, that the safety of the B777-9s was a top priority.
The current passenger fleet of Cathay Pacific, which includes only widebody aircraft, consists of thirty-three A330-300s, nine A350-1000s, twenty-two A350-900s, three B777-200s, seventeen B777-300s, and fifty-two B777-300(ER)s. Hogg underlined that the carrier was "very happy" with its roughly 50/50 split between Airbus and Boeing jets.
