Cathay Pacific Releases Combined Traffic Figures for November 2009

Cathay Pacific Airways today released combined Cathay Pacific and Dragonair traffic figures for November 2009 that show passenger volumes and cargo and mail tonnage rising over the same month in 2008 - though by November last year traffic had already been significantly impacted by the economic downturn.

Cathay Pacific and Dragonair carried a total of 2,007,773 passengers in November - up 1.5% against the same month in 2008. The month's load factor was 82.0%, up 6.3 percentage points, while capacity for the month, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), was down by 5.9%. For the year to date, the number of passengers carried is down by 3.3% compared to a capacity decline of 4.7%.

The two airlines carried a total of 141,799 tonnes of cargo and mail last month, up 7.6% on November 2008, while the cargo and mail load factor rose by 12.3 percentage points to 76.8%. Capacity for the month, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, was 12.9% down. For the year to date, tonnage has fallen by 9.5% against a capacity reduction of 13.9%.

Cathay Pacific General Manager Revenue Management Tom Owen said: "Our overall passenger numbers saw a year-on-year rise in November, mainly driven by demand in our Economy cabins. The rise in passenger numbers was achieved against a fall in capacity, which helped to push up load factors and improve average yields a little off their low base. We were also encouraged to see a modest rise in the number of passengers flying in our premium cabins, though still at volumes and yields well below what we were seeing before the economic crash in late 2008."

Cathay Pacific General Manager Cargo Sales & Marketing Titus Diu said: "November saw continuing strong demand out of the Hong Kong and Shanghai markets, and the significant reductions in capacity helped to push up our cargo load factor to the highest seen so far this year. Demand was particularly strong to North America and Europe and we were pleased to see further increases in yield. However, we remain cautious about the outlook for demand after the current seasonal peak."