Cathay Pacific Releases Combined Traffic Figures for November 2007

Cathay Pacific Airways today released combined Cathay Pacific and Dragonair traffic figures for November 2007 showing another healthy rise in passenger numbers and a growth in freight tonnage as the winter peak approached.

In November the two airlines carried a total of 2,021,997 passengers, up 10.9% on the same month last year, with a capacity rise, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), of 5.9%. The month's load factor was up 3 percentage points to 80.4%. For the year to date, passenger numbers have increased by 3.7% against a capacity increase of 2.2%.

Cathay Pacific and Dragonair between them carried a total of 152,875 tonnes of freight in November, a rise of 3.5% year on year. November's capacity was up 6.8%, while the cargo and mail load factor fell by 1.5 percentage points to 69.8%. For the year to date, the 3.0% growth in freight carried compares to a capacity rise of 6.9%.

Cathay Pacific General Manager Revenue Management, Sales & Distribution Ian Shiu said: "November is traditionally one of our quieter months so we were encouraged by the robust growth in passenger numbers and rise in load factor. Business was given a boost by the addition of new flights to North America and Australia, while demand from corporate travellers remained strong. We expect the positive trends to continue through the upcoming Christmas and Chinese New Year peaks."

Cathay Pacific Director & General Manager Cargo Ron Mathison said: "We were pleased to see another month of tonnage growth, though it continued to lag behind capacity growth. Moving into the pre-Christmas peak, demand remained high on most key routes, particularly from the major Mainland China cities. However, the Northeast Asia market remains soft and yields are significantly down."

Note:(i)   Comparative figures exclude Dragonair Jan-Oct 2006
        (ii)   Comparative figures include Dragonair