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Cannix Yau

Oscar Liu

Jiwon Park

Competition for Cathay Pacific Airways’ free tickets for residents in South Korea was fierce, with more than 130,000 people jockeying for 10,602 giveaways in the first two minutes of the campaign on Tuesday, which left many participants frustrated.
The city’s flagship carrier started offering free return tickets from Seoul to Hong Kong on a first-come, first-served basis from noon on Tuesday until May 22. The giveaway ended in less than half an hour.
To qualify, participants had to be at least 19 years old and registered Cathay members.

The promotional drive is part of a 700,000-ticket giveaway handled by local airlines under the government’s “Hello Hong Kong” campaign. The city aims to lure more than 1.5 million visitors after three years of Covid-19 pandemic travel restrictions.
But in the first two minutes of the campaign on Tuesday, more than 135,000 people queued on the airline’s website, with a waiting time of more than an hour. In under 25 minutes, the company announced all 10,602 free tickets had been awarded.
Miseong Lee, a 32-year-old clerk from Seoul, said she thought it would be easy to win a free trip as she had not realised more than 130,000 people were hoping to secure tickets.
Tens of thousands vie for free tickets to Hong Kong from Britain, Germany, Switzerland
“I expected the process to be easy so I sat in front of my computer at 11am and waited for the event to start at noon,” Lee said. “But I was not able to log in to the website at 12pm. I gave up eventually after a few attempts.”
Hong Kong resident Soyeon Park, who also failed to win a giveaway for her family in Seoul, described the experience as “more difficult than buying tickets for a K-pop idol concert”.
“I was able to log in to the website easily, but the system said it would take more than an hour. I left the monitor on and came back after lunch, but the website showed the event was over,” the 32-year-old office worker said.
“I will still try to win free tickets offered by another airline now.”
Hong Kong’s Cathay fare prices won’t drop until end of next year: CEO
Greater Bay Airlines will give 200 round-trip tickets from Seoul to Hong Kong in two lucky draws in May and June. It will also offer buy-one-get-one-free tickets.
Ryu Jieun, a 32-year-old counsellor from Seoul, said she was devastated when she discovered more than 30,000 people were already in the queue after she managed to log into Cathay’s website.
“The system forced me out after I successfully logged in at 12pm. I was able to log in again a minute later, but just ended up waiting until the system said the event had finished. The free-ticket quota was not enough,” Ryu said.
Thousands hope to land free airline tickets to Hong Kong from Philippines
“Cathay is the airline representing Hong Kong, but now I have a bad impression of the company’s service after this experience.”
The winners, to be announced on June 1, will get a redemption code via email, which they must activate within one month. Tickets are valid for nine months after they have been redeemed.
Once redeemed, the ticket can be used for a trip that lasts two to seven days. Winners must pay all taxes and surcharges that apply to their tickets.
The remaining destinations for the free-ticket campaign are Japan and Taiwan, with the giveaways set to happen in June and July, respectively.


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Cathay Pacific

Hong Kong’s free Cathay Pacific tickets from Seoul to city snapped up quickly as 130,000 people queue for 10,602 giveaways

South Korean residents snap up Cathay Pacific’s free tickets to Hong Kong. Photo: Winson Wong

Cathay offered free airline tickets to registered members over 19 years old. Photo: Winson Wong

Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific ticket prices won’t drop until ‘end of next year’ amid manpower crunch, CEO says while carrier plans cadet pilots at service lines

Hong Kong’s Cathay has been badly hit by three years of pandemic shutdowns. Photo: Sam Tsang

Patrick Healy (left), chairman of Cathay Pacific Airways, and CEO Ronald Lam. Photo: Jelly Tse

Cathay flight crew at the airport. The city’s flag carrier is facing a manpower crunch. Photo: Sam Tsang

Smooth take-off for Cathay Pacific’s free ticket drive aimed at Hong Kong and Greater Bay Area residents, with 27,000 round trips up for grabs

Cathay planes at Hong Kong’s airport. The city’s flag carrier is among local airlines rolling out a ticket bonanza under a government drive to lure visitors back. Photo: Winson Wong

The ‘Hello Hong Kong’ campaign hopes to reinvigorate the city’s beleaguered tourism sector. Photo: Sam Tsang

Cathay is one of four carriers tasked with rolling out the full airline ticket giveaway campaign. Photo: Jonathan Wong

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Hong Kong

Hong Kong economy

Free airline tickets offered to registered Cathay members over 19 years old
Long queues and wait times leave many participants feeling frustrated as campaign ends in less than half an hour


Long queues and wait times leave many participants feeling frustrated as campaign ends in less than half an hour.


Hong Kong’s free Cathay Pacific tickets from Seoul to city snapped up quickly as 130,000 people queue for 10,602 giveaways

Free airline tickets offered to registered Cathay members over 19 years old Long queues and wait times leave many participants feeling frustrated as campaign ends in less than half an hour

Free airline tickets offered to registered Cathay members over 19 years old

Long queues and wait times leave many participants feeling frustrated as campaign ends in less than half an hour