Cathay Pacific and Dragonair serve 2.27mn passengers in June

Despite 2.4% increase in passenger volume, the two airlines’ cargo and mail volume down 9.1%.

Cathay Pacific Airways on Thursday released combined Cathay Pacific and Dragonair traffic figures for June 2011 that show a year-on-year increase in passenger numbers alongside a drop in the amount of cargo and mail carried.

Cathay Pacific and Dragonair carried a total of 2,269,362 passengers last month – up 2.4% on the same month last year – while the passenger load factor fell by 3.9 percentage points to 81.5%. Capacity for the month, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), was up by 9.4%. In the first six months of the year, the number of passengers carried was up 1.7%, the passenger load factor was down by 4.7 percentage points to 79.3%, while capacity rose by 9.8%, according to a Cathay Pacific report.

The two airlines carried 134,980 tonnes of cargo and mail in June, a 9.1% decrease compared to the same month last year, while the cargo and mail load factor was down 8.4 percentage points to 67%. Capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, was up by 6.3%, while cargo and mail tonne kilometres flown were down by 5.5%. In the first half of the year, tonnage dropped by 4.1% compared to a capacity increase of 14.6%.

Cathay Pacific General Manager Revenue Management Tom Owen said: "Passenger numbers in June showed an increase compared to the same month last year, though load factors in Economy Class fell due to the growth in capacity. Some routes – including Japan, Shanghai and the Middle East - continued to show weakness, though loads on key long-haul routes and within Southeast Asia remained high. Demand in our premium cabins continued to show growth over last year, helping to boost yield and revenue efficiency.”

Cathay Pacific General Manager Cargo Sales & Marketing James Woodrow said: “We saw continued weakness out of our key Mainland China and Hong Kong markets in June, but this is traditionally a quieter time of year in the airfreight industry. The consistently strong demand seen throughout 2010 was certainly not the norm. Our India routes continued to perform well and we will launch a new twice-weekly freighter service to Bengaluru in August to further boost our presence in the subcontinent.”