HONG KONG’S number two passenger carrier, Dragonair, said yesterday it had filed a formal objection with the government over Cathay Pacific Airways bid to resume flights to the mainland.

　　Cathay, Asia’s fourth largest international airline by passengers carried, recently applied for rights to fly to Shanghai, Beijing and Xiamen after a 12-year absence from the mainland. Dragonair, which is 17.8 percent owned by Cathay, earns most of its revenues from the mainland.

　　Dragonair said it had lodged an objection with the Air Transport Licensing Authority (ATLA), saying there was already sufficient capacity on those routes and there would not be enough business to support additional airlines.

　　“Allowing the application would therefore result in the uneconomical overlapping of air services,” the airline said.

　　“Dragonair’s objection is an established part of ATLA’s application process,” Cathay spokeswoman Rosita Ng said. “But Cathay believes that Hong Kong would be strengthened as a global aviation hub by drawing back much of the mainland-bound business that is now being funnelled through other regional hubs like Singapore, and Bangkok.”

　　“Cathay Pacific returning to the Chinese mainland would benefit Hong Kong, mainland and the travelling public and we will confidently present our case,” she added.

　　Dragonair’s objection means that the ATLA will have to arrange a public hearing in the next one or two months to look into Cathay’s application.

　　Just last week, a source said that Dragonair had also applied to fly to more Asian cities, including Tokyo, Bangkok and Sydney.

　　Only China Eastern, China Southern and Dragonair now operate flights between Hong Kong and Beijing and Hong Kong and Shanghai.

　　Cathay’s application to resume flights to the mainland followed Dragonair’s success in winning the right to fly to Taipei in July, a lucrative route for Cathay.

　　Hong Kong’s decision to allow Dragonair to compete with Cathay marked a reversal of the government’s “one airline, one route” non-competition policy established in the 1980s.

　　Aside from Cathay’s stake, Dragonair is 43.29 percent owned by China National Aviation Co., 29.35 percent by red chip CITIC Pacific and 7.71 percent by Swire Pacific, which also owns about 46 percent of Cathay. (SD-Agencies)