Cathay Pacific to make Madrid daily and plugs Hong Kong into four new Latin American cities via Iberia codeshare

Cathay Pacific continued to rebuild and re-diversify its long-haul network with a fresh capacity increase unveiled on 16 July. From the start of the northern-winter scheduling season (25 October 2026), Hong Kong–Madrid will rise from four weekly rotations to a daily Airbus A350 service. The move restores the frequency last seen before the pandemic and reflects robust premium and leisure demand between Greater China and Spain. More strategically, the additional flights underpin a broadened codeshare with oneworld partner Iberia. Cathay’s ‘CX’ code will now appear on Iberia services from Madrid to Buenos Aires, Fortaleza, Recife and Santo Domingo. For the first time, Cathay passengers can through-ticket from Hong Kong to Argentina and the Dominican Republic on a single booking reference, with baggage checked through and mileage earned both ways. Latin America has been one of the few remaining white spots in Hong Kong’s global connectivity map. The new reach offers corporates in Hong Kong and southern Mainland China a one-stop option to Brazil’s northeast via Fortaleza and Recife, and to the fast-growing Caribbean market via Santo Domingo. Travel-buyers should note that daily Madrid frequencies improve connection banks, reducing minimum connection times to under two hours for most Iberia feeds. Cathay also announced that its South-Island high-season run between Christchurch and Hong Kong will grow from three to five weekly flights during December–February, restoring almost 85 per cent of the carrier’s New Zealand capacity. Capacity increases coincide with Hong Kong Airport’s slot-co-ordination shift to summer 2027 planning and reinforce the territory’s stated ambition to regain its status as Asia’s premiere international aviation hub. For mobility teams, the Iberia tie-up adds new routings for assignees bound for South America without relying on US transit visas, while the Madrid frequency upgrade provides more schedule resilience during Europe’s winter-weather disruption season.