Cathay Pacific Airways today released combined Cathay Pacific and Dragonair traffic figures for October 2007 that show a healthy growth in both passenger numbers and cargo tonnage for the month.

In October the two airlines carried a total of 2,038,077 passengers, a rise of 6.8% on the same month last year. The passenger load factor climbed by 2.3 percentage points to 80.8% while capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), was up 4.4%. For the year to date, the 3.0% increase in passenger numbers is ahead of a capacity rise of 1.8%

On the cargo side, Cathay Pacific and Dragonair between them carried a total of 153,549 tonnes of freight last month, a rise of 6.6% year on year. October's capacity was up 8.3%, while the cargo and mail load factor dipped by 1.0 percentage points to 68.8%. So far this year cargo tonnage has risen by 3.0% against a capacity rise of 6.9%.

Cathay Pacific General Manager Revenue Management, Sales & Distribution Ian Shiu said: "It was another high load factor in October and our passenger numbers were boosted by additional flights to destinations such as Melbourne and San Francisco. Front-end business, especially on long-haul routes, remained strong, as it has throughout 2007. Capacity is set to climb further in the coming months, with more new aircraft and further flight enhancements, but we expect passenger demand to remain high."

Cathay Pacific Director & General Manager Cargo Ron Mathison said: "October saw another healthy tonnage growth, boosted once again by demand out of Mainland China and heavy traffic on routes such as Australia and India. As we moved into the seasonal peak there were indications that we could see a big pickup in demand, though Northeast Asia remains a concern with yields still under considerable pressure."

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