Cathay Pacific (CX, Hong Kong International) has extended the dry-leases of a number of B777-300(ER)s from BOC Aviation by ten years in March 2020 as it ponders whether to take ordered B777-9s once they are available, the Seattle Times has reported.

Citing an unnamed senior executive at a leasing firm, the report said that Cathay Pacific was in talks with another lessor concerning extending another ten leases of B777-300(ER) for a further ten years.

"Unofficially, Cathay is saying it won’t take the 777Xs," the source said.

According to the ch-aviation fleets module, Cathay Pacific currently operates fifty-one B777-300(ER)s, which are 8.1 years old on average. Thirty-one units are owned by the airline while the remainder is dry-leased from Nomura Babcock & Brown (nine units), BOC Aviation (four), Aviator Capital, Stratos (two each), Blackbird Capital, Doric Asset Finance, and ICBC Financial Leasing (one each). The airline has twenty-one B777-9s on firm order from Boeing.

The airline also operates seventeen owned B777-300s used on regional routes.

Cathay Pacific said it would not comment on speculation.