Cathay Pacific Airways today released traffic figures for December 2004 that show passenger and cargo volumes peaked with the advent of the Christmas holidays and new records for the year as a whole as the airline introduced new flights and capacity.

The airline carried 1,272,982 passengers in December, up from 1,187,548 passengers in November as leisure traffic hit its season high ahead of Christmas. December also saw a new capacity record, measured in terms of Available Seat Kilometres, or ASKs, as additional winter schedule services and holiday flights broke the previous record set in August 2004.

Traffic was little affected by the 26 December Indian Ocean tsunami as most holiday travellers had already reached their destination by that time.

The pre-Christmas cargo peak lasted a little longer than usual, right up to the start of the holidays. The airline carried 83,148 tonnes, down slightly from 86,933 shipped in November. The average cargo load factor dipped slightly to 68.2 percent.

Cathay Pacific set new records in 2004, carrying 13,663,958 passengers and 972,416 tonnes of freight over the 12-month period. The airline increased passenger and cargo capacity, with new and more frequent services to cities including Beijing, Sydney, New York and Moscow. Three wet-lease freighter aircraft boosted the cargo fleet. Cathay Pacific takes delivery of a new B747-400 freighter next month.

Cathay Pacific General Manager Revenue Management, Sales & Distribution Ian Shiu said: "December was a good month ending a great year. Strong passenger numbers were supported by additional regional and long-haul services which strengthened our ability to generate connecting traffic through our hub in Hong Kong. Hong Kong's position as a gateway to the Mainland will be further enhanced with the launch of a new service to Xiamen and double daily services to Beijing later this year."

Cathay Pacific Director & General Manager Cargo Ron Mathison said: "Cargo growth continued to be driven by demand for exports from Southern China. Congestion in US West Coast seaports helped to boost demand for air cargo services as well. Business on trunk routes from Hong Kong to the United States, Europe and Japan remained strong throughout the year. Our service will be further improved with a new daily freighter service to Shanghai."

Cathay Pacific Airways
Corporate Communication Department