On the back of strengthening demand for flights connecting Hong Kong and the United Kingdom, Cathay Pacific has announced that its current four-times-weekly service to Gatwick will become a daily operation from June 2017.

In a further boost to the airline’s UK connectivity, Manchester will see the addition of a fifth weekly flight and become an all Airbus A350-900 operation in June.

The airline’s current four-times-weekly Gatwick service, which utilises the Airbus A350-900, will become a daily operation from June 1st, highlighting the popularity of the route since its September launch.

Together with the airline’s services to Heathrow, Cathay Pacific will operate up to six daily non-stop flights between Hong Kong and London next year – more than any other carrier.

Manchester, which was launched just two years ago, will receive one additional flight per week from Hong Kong, increasing the operation to a five-times-weekly service from June 2nd.

At the same time, the A350 will replace the Boeing 777-300ER on all flights to the northern English city, making it the second Cathay Pacific destination in the UK, after Gatwick, to receive the technologically-advanced aircraft.

Neil Glenn, Cathay Pacific general manager Europe, said: “We are delighted to be increasing our schedule from Gatwick and Manchester.

“The additional frequencies coupled with the introduction of the A350 on our Manchester route, underline the deep-rooted commitment we have to providing both business and leisure passengers with increased convenience and superior in-flight products. 

“These enhancements will give travellers even more reasons to choose Cathay Pacific.”

Cathay Pacific currently operates 43 non-stop flights to the United Kingdom per week, including five daily services to Heathrow and four-times-weekly services to Gatwick and Manchester.

It has expanded its Europe network considerably in recent years, launching services to Zurich and Düsseldorf in 2015 followed by Madrid and Gatwick this year.

The airline currently operates 93 direct flights to 10 European cities each week and will launch a new four-times-weekly service between Hong Kong and Tel Aviv in March next year.