Cathay Pacific Releases Combined Traffic Figures for April 2012

Cathay Pacific Airways today released combined Cathay Pacific and Dragonair traffic figures for April 2012 that show passenger numbers growing year on year against another drop in cargo and mail tonnage.

Cathay Pacific and Dragonair carried a total of 2,522,378 passengers in April - an increase of 11.7% on the same month in 2011 - while the passenger load factor rose by 2.8 percentage points to 83.1%. Capacity for the month, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), was up by 8.2%. For the year to date, passenger numbers have risen by 9.7% compared to a capacity increase of 8.5%.

The two airlines carried 124,531 tonnes of cargo and mail last month, a drop of 11.0% compared to April 2011. The cargo and mail load factor was down by 5.0 percentage points to 63.3%. Capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, decreased by 6.8%, while cargo and mail tonne kilometres flown dropped by 13.7%. For the first four months, tonnage has declined by 10.7% against a capacity drop of 3.3%.

Cathay Pacific General Manager Revenue Management James Tong said: "Passenger volumes showed an increase compared to April 2011, though in the same month last year traffic to and from Japan was still being heavily affected by the earthquake and tsunami. Regional traffic last month was boosted by additional Cathay Pacific and Dragonair frequencies. The biggest problem at the moment is yield, which continues to decline in all classes, especially Economy, while our business in the premium cabins is coming under increasing pressure."

Cathay Pacific General Manager Cargo Sales & Marketing James Woodrow said: "After the temporary surge in business in March, driven by large shipments of hi-tech products from Mainland China, demand softened again out of our key markets in April. The general air cargo market remains soft, especially to Europe, though intra-Asia traffic is holding up better, helped by a recent expansion of the passenger network in the region. Looking forward, we will continue to manage capacity in line with demand, particularly on long-haul flights to Europe and Transpacific. Fuel prices continue to be a major concern on these long-haul routes."