Cathay Pacific, Dragonair passenger traffic dipped 2.6% to 2.46m

Whipped by bird flu scare.

According to a release, Cathay Pacific Airways today released combined Cathay Pacific and Dragonair traffic figures for April 2013 that show a decrease in both the number of passengers carried and cargo and mail tonnage compared to the same month in 2012.

Cathay Pacific and Dragonair carried a total of 2,456,438 passengers in April – a 2.6% decrease compared to the same month last year. The passenger load factor was down by 1.9 percentage points to 81.2%, while capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), fell by 4.8%. In the first four months of the year, the number of passengers increased by 1.4% compared to a capacity decrease of 6.0%.

The two airlines carried 123,805 tonnes of cargo and mail last month, a decrease of 0.6% compared to April 2012. The cargo and mail load factor fell by 2.5 percentage points to 60.8%. Capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, grew by 1.5% while cargo and mail revenue tonne kilometres were down by 2.4%. In the first four months of 2013, the tonnage drop of 1.2% compared to a 3.2% capacity decrease. 

Cathay Pacific General Manager Revenue Management James Tong said: “The decrease in passenger numbers was partly accounted for by Easter falling in different months – the holiday began in late March this year, whereas in 2012 it was in April.

News about the H7N9 outbreak in Mainland China began to become more widespread in April and this had a negative impact on inbound traffic into key ports in Eastern China.

Overall, demand on most long-haul routes remained strong throughout April, though demand within the region could not keep pace with the capacity increase. Premium class travel was boosted by the start of the Canton Fair.”

Cathay Pacific General Manager Cargo Sales & Marketing James Woodrow said: “The air cargo market took a major dip in April 2011 and has remained in the doldrums for two consecutive years – an unprecedented period of time for the markets to remain weak. While our tonnage last month was almost on a par with the same month in 2012, it was almost 30,000 tonnes behind what we achieved in April 2010. With no sign of any sustained pick-up, we are continuing to manage freighter capacity in line with demand and increase the overall efficiency of our freighter fleet.”