Cathay Pacific has said it plans to create more than 1,300 jobs over the next two years.

The Hong Kong-based airline will buck the global trend in an industry that has laid off thousands of workers in recent months by hiring 200 cabin crew this year and another 800 next year.

It said it will recruit 235 new pilots by December next year.

The hiring plans could be good news for pilots laid off by other airlines. Cathay said it is seeking a pool of qualified overseas pilots and not all the new recruits will come from its own cadet training programme.

'Traffic is up'

Another 60 new jobs will be created for ground staff at Hong Kong International Airport, Cathay Pacific said.

"Traffic is up again so we will start growing again," the airline's corporate development director Tony Tyler told the South China Morning Post newspaper.

The carrier said it will add six new aircraft to its fleet.

The expansion programme comes just 11 months after Cathay Pacific faced down a pay dispute with its cabin crew by sacking 49 pilots and hiring temporary planes and crew from mainland Chinese airlines.

Miserable times

Last August, it reported a two thirds drop in profits as the global economic slowdown shrank yields from passengers and cargo shipments alike.

At that time, the airline said it could see "no real signs of potential recovery in the Asian air passenger and freight markets" and warned the situation might worsen.

A month later, it did. The airline imposed a hiring freeze and mothballed seven planes after the 11 September terrorist attacks plunged the global aviation industry into crisis.

The new jobs will be a boost for Hong Kong's economy, which is in the doldrums with unemployment hitting a 20-year high of 6.7% in February.

"We are confident that these new hires will help meet our future operational needs as the airline raises capacity and works to increase its market share when demand in the air travel market grows," said Cathay Pacific.