Hong Kong - Hong Kong's flagship airline Cathay Pacific Friday increased fares for first and business-class passengers by up to 15 per cent to counter soaring oil price rises.

The airline, which issued a profit warning earlier this month over the impact of rising fuel prices, is expected to impose its biggest rises on routes to Europe, Canada and Australia.

The fare rises ranging from 3 to 15 per cent will come into effect from Friday, the airline said in a statement. There will be no fare increases for economy class passengers.

Announcing the fare rises, Cathay Pacific chief executive Tony Tyler said: "We regret having to charge passengers more, but the increase in our fuel bill is too great for us to absorb.

"We have to ask our passengers to pay more for their flights, either through increased surcharges or by increasing fares."

Tyler said the average price paid by the airline for fuel in the first half of 2008 was 60 per cent more than that paid in the first half of 2007.

The airline is also cutting its flight schedule to Vancouver and Toronto as well as increasing flights to Dubai and Bahrain as part of a policy of focusing on busier routes to counter fuel price rises.

Cathay Pacific, which with its subsidiary Dragonair carried 23.5 million passengers in 2007, reported a 72 per cent year-on-year profits rise for 2007.

However, a profit warning was issued in early July after the airline predicted conditions would be far harsher in 2008 because of the rise in fuel prices and the slowdown in the global economy.

The profit warning was only the second issued in the Hong Kong airline's history. The first warning was issued during the 2003 SARS crisis which devastated the former British colony's economy. (dpa)