Cathay Pacific Announces February 2002 Traffic Figures

18 Mar 2002

Cathay Pacific Airways today released traffic figures for February 2002, reflecting the busy Chinese New Year travel season. The airline carried 943,181 passengers in February 2002, an 8.3% rise from February 2001. The volume of passenger traffic for February 2002 measured in terms of revenue passenger kilometres (RPK) rose by 7.2% against the same month last year, and the passenger load factor for the month was 78.4%. The airline's high reported load factor reflected a reduction in capacity and the operation of 7.6% fewer available seat kilometres (ASK), due to a reduction in the number of ultra-long-haul European and trans-Pacific flights. Sharp discounting forced by very competitive market conditions and fewer passengers flying in First and Business Class continued to depress the average price paid for each ticket. The actual Chinese New Year holiday, when many businesses close, had an adverse impact on cargo. Shipments fell 1.0% from the same month last year to 55,029 tonnes. Cathay Pacific's General Manager Revenue Management, Sales & Distribution Ian Shiu said: "It's always hard to make meaningful month-on-month comparisons early in the year when the Chinese New Year falls in different months. Taking January and February figures together, passenger numbers rose slightly -- up 2.2%. But demand for First and Business Class travel is still weak, and competitive discounting in what remains a very tough sales environment means that average fares are much lower than last year."

Cathay Pacific Airways
Corporate Communication Department