Cathay pushing for Shanghai flights

Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways is seeking ways of bringing forward clearance to begin flights on the lucrative Hong Kong-Shanghai route. Under an aviation pact between the SAR government and the mainland, Cathay is not allowed to begin service until 2006. However, airline management is pressuring Hong Kong officials to meet with their mainland counterparts to bring the date forward, the South China Morning Post reported. At present Cathay serves only Beijing, a service it resumed in 2003 after being kept out of the mainland market for several years.