Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways pays CEO Ronald Lam Siu-por nearly $1.4M in 2023

He was followed by Chief Financial Officer Rebecca Sharpe, who received HK$9.71 million, up 35.8% from 2022, and Chairman Patrick Healy, who earned HK$8.66 million, marking a 38.6% increase.

Collectively, the top 20 executives at Cathay Pacific were paid HK$60.62 million last year, representing a 19.3% increase from pre-Covid 2019 and a 21.6% increase from 2022, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in Hong Kong, according to the South China Morning Post.

Restoring full flight capacity has proven to be an uphill battle for Cathay Pacific, which is currently operating at 70% of its pre-pandemic capacity.

In March, the firm announced a delay in meeting its capacity target due to staff shortages, according to Nikkei Asia.

It would reach its full pre-pandemic capacity by the end of the first quarter of 2025, rather than the end of this year as initially planned, Lam said.

Cathay Pacific also faced criticism from both the Hong Kong government and the community for chaotic flight cancellations from last December to February.

The carrier managed to report a profit of HK$9.78 billion last year, marking its first profit since 2019 and its highest since 2010.

Its revenue for 2023 surged by 85% from a year ago to HK$94.48 billion, primarily driven by a notable recovery in travel demand.