Cathay Dragon, part of the Cathay Pacific Group, will be introducing two new services in October.

The Hong Kong-based airline has announced plans to launch non-stop flights to Davao City (Philippines) and Medan (Indonesia), from October 28 and 29 respectively.

The cities are the eighth and ninth new destinations the group has announced during an unprecedented year of expansion and will boost Hong Kong’s connections with two of Asean’s founding member states.

Davao City, the main trade, business and tourism centre of the island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines, will be served four times a week; while Medan, the thriving capital of North Sumatra in Indonesia, will be served three times a week.

The new routes will both be operated by Airbus A320 aircraft.

Cathay Pacific chief customer and commercial officer, Paul Loo, said: "The new services reflect the group’s commitment to growing its reach to destinations not otherwise served directly from Hong Kong, providing customers with more choice and strengthening Hong Kong’s status as Asia’s largest international aviation hub."

“Davao City and Medan are key trade and tourism centres in their respective regions and each looks set play an important role in the Belt and Road Initiative. As such, both present exciting opportunities for business and leisure travellers alike,” he said.

“Our convenient new services will capture the demand from Hong Kong and beyond, while at the same time providing customers in the Philippines and Indonesia with more options when connecting to the Cathay Pacific Group’s extensive Mainland China and international networks.”

Already this year, the Cathay Pacific Group has launched services to Nanning, Jinan and Brussels. Other new routes to take-off in 2018 include Dublin (June) and Washington (September), as well as seasonal services to Copenhagen (May) and Cape Town (November). - TradeArabia News Service