Cathay Pacific Releases Combined Traffic Figures for May 2010

Cathay Pacific Airways today released combined Cathay Pacific and Dragonair traffic figures for May 2010 that show significant rises in both the number of passengers and amount of cargo and mail carried compared to the same month in 2009.

Cathay Pacific and Dragonair carried a total of 2,183,623 passengers in May - up 12.0% on the same month last year. The passenger load factor was 81.3%, a rise of 5.5 percentage points, while capacity for the month, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), was up by 2.8%. In the first five months of the year, the number of passengers carried rose by 5.3% compared to an ASK drop of 1.6%.

The two airlines carried a total of 158,600 tonnes of cargo and mail last month, up 30.0% on May last year. The cargo and mail load factor was 79.1%, a rise of 10.9 percentage points, while capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, was up by 19.7%. For the year to date, tonnage has risen by 25.4% compared to a capacity increase of 4.8%.

Cathay Pacific General Manager Revenue Management Tom Owen said: "Our passenger business held up well in May, despite it traditionally being one of the softer months in the year. Volume and yield improved over the same month in 2009, when our business was being hit hard by the economic downturn and regional flights were affected by the swine flu outbreak. The China network in particular performed well, boosted by Shanghai Expo demand. Although still below pre-crisis levels, the pick-up in demand in our premium cabins continued last month and the overall outlook for the summer peak still remains solid."

Cathay Pacific General Manager Cargo Mainland China & Hong Kong James Woodrow said: "May is not usually a strong season for air cargo but this year we saw a continuation of the high demand out of key markets seen in the first four months. Demand across the network remained strong and a general shortage of capacity in the industry helped to keep the load factor high. Our own capacity rose due a number of extra services and charters mounted in response to high demand, together with the return of freighters parked in the desert last year."