Cathay Pacific Releases Combined Traffic Figures for May 2013

Cathay Pacific Airways today released combined Cathay Pacific and Dragonair traffic figures for May 2013 that again show a year-on-year drop in the number of passengers carried and cargo and mail tonnage.

Cathay Pacific and Dragonair carried a total of 2,338,703 passengers in May - a drop of 0.8% compared to the same month last year. The passenger load factor was up by 0.5 percentage points to 79.0%, while capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), fell by 3.0%. For the year to date, the number of passengers has shown a 1.0% increase compared to a capacity decline of 5.4%.

The two airlines carried 121,529 tonnes of cargo and mail last month, a drop of 1.5% compared to May 2012. The cargo and mail load factor fell by 1.2 percentage points to 61.1%. Capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, fell by 0.1% while cargo and mail revenue tonne kilometres were down by 2.0%. For the year to date, tonnage has fallen by 1.2% compared to a 2.6% capacity decrease.

Cathay Pacific General Manager Revenue Management James Tong said: "May is traditionally one of the quieter months for our passenger business. The H7N9 outbreak continued to dampen demand into Mainland China, particularly to destinations in the east of the country. Demand on long-haul routes - and London and the United States in particular - remained robust, though demand in the region again lagged capacity growth. One exception was the Japan route, where the yen depreciation helped to boost traffic out of Hong Kong."

Cathay Pacific General Manager Cargo Sales & Marketing James Woodrow said: "There was no change in the overall situation in the world's major airfreight markets in May. Demand out of our two main markets, Hong Kong and Mainland China, remained well below expectations, particularly on the European trade lanes, so we continued to pare back our freighter schedule accordingly. Demand to North America was more robust. Return volumes on transpacific flights were helped by the beginning of the cherry season out of California. We continued to upgrade our fleet, taking delivery of our ninth Boeing 747-8 Freighter in May and parking a Boeing Converted Freighter."