Peak-season award space being tightly controlled is normal for Cathay, and awards are generally loaded up to about 360 days before departure, with additional seats sometimes appearing closer in. If you are not seeing anything yet for January 2027, setting alerts for around 330–360 days before departure (roughly mid‑to‑late February 2026 for late‑January flights) is a sensible strategy.
Separately, Cathay is increasing capacity to and from Australia, including Perth–Hong Kong from late October 2025, with the airline highlighting more than 200,000 seats each way per year on the PER–HKG route. With this extra capacity flowing through 2026, it is reasonable to expect more last‑minute award inventory on PER–HKG than in prior years, especially in the last couple of weeks before departure.
