Cathay Pacific and Dragonair passenger volume up 2.9%

Freight volumes held up well through to the end of 2010 behind year-end cancellations from competitors.

Cathay Pacific Airways on Thursday released combined Cathay Pacific and Dragonair traffic figures for December 2010 that showed an increase in the number of passengers and amount of cargo and mail carried compared to the same month in 2009, but with a fall in the passenger and cargo/mail load factors as a result of the increase in capacity.

Cathay Pacific and Dragonair carried a total of 2,279,785 passengers in December – up 2.9% on the same month in 2009. The passenger load factor was down by 3.8 percentage points to 80.1%, while capacity for the month, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), was up by 7.8%. The total number of passengers carried in 2010 was 26,796,249, an increase of 9.1%, while ASKs rose by 4.1%.

The amount of cargo and mail carried by the two airlines in December was 161,302 tonnes, up 12.0% on December 2009. The cargo and mail load factor was down 1.2 percentage points to 77.4%, while capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, was up by 19%. The total tonnage carried in 2010 was 1,803,921 tonnes – a rise of 18.1%. Cargo/mail tonne kilometres were up by 23.2% for the year compared to a capacity increase of 15.2%, according to a Cathay Pacific report.

Cathay Pacific General Manager Revenue Management Tom Owen said: "The passenger numbers in December were up on the same month in 2009, while the load factor dipped due to a significant increase in capacity year on year. However, the quality of revenue in all classes of travel was higher, with an improvement in the revenue efficiency of the operation. Demand out of Hong Kong to all the popular holiday destinations remained strong, and we mounted a number of extra flights in response. We also saw strong demand on key long-haul routes, though results to London and New York were slightly impacted by the major snow disruptions.”

Cathay Pacific General Manager Cargo Sales & Marketing James Woodrow said: “Freight volumes held up well through to the end of 2010 helped by year-end cancellations from our competitors. The load factor was marginally down on the same month in 2009, but there was a significant growth in tonnage and yield held up well. We will see some slackening in the market in early January though we anticipate an improvement in the second half of the month prior to the Chinese New Year holiday.”