Would this make Cathay the only airline that is currently flying around the world? Mark Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways has won coveted rights to fly between London and New York on the key trans-Atlantic route, a Virgin Atlantic executive said on Thursday. In return, Richard Branson's UK-based Virgin has gained permission to fly daily from Hong Kong to Sydney, where it can hook up with its low-cost carrier Virgin Blue, Chris Humphrey, Virgin's manager for government and external affairs, said in Hong Kong. "Strategically, it's very important for us. We plan to step up our services and fly double-daily to Hong Kong (from London) now that we can connect to Sydney," Humphrey said. "It's still subject to European Union approval but we think that's just a rubber stamp procedure," he added. Cathay had gained rights for a daily round trip service between London and New York, Humphrey said. The US-UK market is dominated by British Airways, Virgin, American Airlines and United Airlines. Cathay confirmed that a deal negotiated between Hong Kong and UK government officials, who met in the territory this week, had been reached but declined to give any details saying it was provisional. Virgin, which said it hopes to start flying to Sydney in the summer, will compete with Cathay and Qantas on the Hong Kong to Sydney route. Humphrey added that British Airways did not secure the right to fly cargo from Hong Kong to Japan, which it had been looking for. The move is also likely to raise the hackles of Cathay's main Asian rival Singapore Airlines and smaller UK carrier British Midland Airways, which have both sought trans-Atlantic rights through London for years. Cathay has said landing rights at London's busy Heathrow Airport could be hard to secure. (Reuters)