Cathay Pacific Airways today released combined Cathay Pacific and Dragonair traffic figures for June 2007 that show a rise in passenger numbers over the same month last year as the airline entered the summer peak season. The amount of cargo carried was also up, though the rise lagged behind the corresponding increase in capacity for the month.

In June, the two carriers carried a total of 1,883,521 passengers, up 1.9% on last year. The passenger load factor was down marginally, falling 0.1 percentage points to 81%. The rise in passenger numbers kept ahead of the increase in capacity, measured in available seat kilometres, which was up 1.5%. For the first six months of the year the number of passengers carried was up 1.3% compared to a 1.6% capacity rise.

The amount of cargo carried by Cathay Pacific and Dragonair last month was 129,169 tonnes, a rise of 1.3% over June 2006. The cargo load factor fell by 3.4 percentage points to 67% while capacity, measure in terms of available cargo and mail tonne kilometres, saw a 7.8% jump. In the first half of the year the combined cargo tonnage fell by 0.4% compared to a capacity rise of 4.6%.

Cathay Pacific General Manager Revenue Management, Sales & Distribution Ian Shiu said: "Our passenger load factor fell marginally in the build up to the summer holiday season but we were encouraged by the continued strong demand for travel in the front end. Corporate demand remains high and we expect the leisure segment to be very strong in the peak holiday months of July and August for both Cathay Pacific and Dragonair."

Cathay Pacific Director & General Manager Cargo Ron Mathison said: "Demand remains high out of Mainland China and loads on our long-haul flights to North America and Europe have been satisfactory. The continued influx of capacity into the region has been keeping down freight rates, while competition from marine cargo is having an impact, particularly on North Asian routes. However, we remain confident about the long-term prospects for airfreight in the region and expect to see some pickup soon."

The full figures are as below:

Note:(i)   Comparative figures excluding Dragonair 2006 traffic / capacity
        (ii)   Comparative figures including Dragonair 2006 traffic / capacity