Cathay Pacific Releases Combined Traffic Figures for October 2011

Cathay Pacific Airways today released combined Cathay Pacific and Dragonair traffic figures for October 2011 that show a rise in passenger numbers well below the increase in capacity. Cargo and mail tonnage once again showed a year-on-year decline.

Cathay Pacific and Dragonair carried a total of 2,381,008 passengers last month - up 3.8% on the same month last year - while the passenger load factor fell by 3.1 percentage points to 80.1%. Capacity for the month, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), was up by 10.3%. For the year to date, the number of passengers carried increased by 2.3% compared to a capacity hike of 9.3%.

The two airlines carried 135,998 tonnes of cargo and mail in October, a year-on-year drop of 17.5%. The cargo and mail load factor was down by 8.9 percentage points to 66.2%. Capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, fell by 4.7%, while cargo and mail tonne kilometres flown were down by 15.9%. For the year to date, tonnage has dropped by 7.7% while capacity is up by 8.1%.

Cathay Pacific General Manager Revenue Management James Tong said: "Our passenger traffic held up quite well in October but the growth could not keep pace with the increase in capacity, which accounts for the drop in load factor. Demand in the premium cabins continued to be robust, in what is traditionally the peak month for business travel, but the outlook is very uncertain. In the Economy cabin we are seeing increasing pressure on yield, particularly on long-haul routes. Our business to Japan continues to recover and we will revert to a full schedule in November."

Cathay Pacific General Manager Cargo Sales & Marketing James Woodrow said: "The airfreight industry remained weak overall in October, with our key Hong Kong and China markets continuing to be soft. It looks unlikely that we will see the usual year-end peak. We continue to look for opportunities in new markets. The recently launched freighter services to Bengaluru, Chongqing and Chengdu have been well received and on 15 November we are launching a twice-weekly service to Zaragoza - our first time to fly to Spain."