Carriers ask staff to take unpaid leave

HONG KONG: Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong's largest carrier, will ask staff to take unpaid leave of up to four weeks and cut down capacity due to deteriorating business conditions.

The company made the announcement yesterday when its turnover for the first quarter was 22.4 percent lower than the same period in 2008. The airline recorded a loss of nearly HK$8.6 billion ($1.1 billion) last year, its first in 10 years.

"We have no option but to take measures that will help us weather the current storm and maintain long-term sustainability of the business," said the airline chief executive Tony Tyler, calling the current market situation as worse than the SARS and 9/11 crises.