Burson-Marsteller gets year-long retainer for Dragonair & Cathay Pacific

After a three-month competitive tender, Burson-Marsteller's media relations and crisis counsel services have been retained for Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific and its sister carrier Dragonair. In addition, the firm will provide Dragonair with corporate social responsibility support. The one-year retainer contract started earlier this month.

“As the Chinese market grows in size, the country’s fliers become increasingly discerning,” said Sam Swire, Cathay Pacific and Dragonair’s general manager in China, who wants to increase awareness of the two airline brands among outbound travellers.

Specifically, the duo is targeting Chinese international travellers—those who will fly first from the mainland to Hong Kong on Dragonair and then take another connecting flight abroad through Cathay's network.

When Cathay bought out its then-rival Dragonair for US$1.05 billion in 2006, its purpose was to expand its flight network on the mainland. Dragonair operates 17 routes between Hong Kong and  mainland cities Beijing, Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Kunming, Nanjing, Ningbo, Qingdao, Sanya, Shanghai, Wuhan and Xiamen. The Dalian and Tianjin routes are operated on a joint or code-sharing basis.

Cathay's rivals include Beijing-based Air China, Shanghai-based China Eastern and Guangzhou-based China Southern. 

“China’s travel industry is growing at an exponential rate,” Chris Deri, Burson-Marsteller China’s CEO, said. A combination of China’s fast-emerging middle class, improved transport links and favourable aviation policies are contributing to the boom of outbound travel.

The World Tourism Organisation has estimated that the total number of outbound tourists from China will reach 100 million by 2020. And by 2030, passenger numbers for Chinese carriers may increase to 1.5 billion, according to a projection from the country's Civil Aviation Administration.