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15 Nov 2012

Cathay Pacific Releases Combined Traffic Figures for October 2012

Cathay Pacific Releases Combined Traffic Figures for October 2012

Cathay Pacific Airways today released combined Cathay Pacific and Dragonair traffic figures for October 2012 that show a small increase in passenger numbers compared to the same month last year, albeit with a drop in load factor. Cargo and mail tonnage showed a year-on-year increase for the second month in a row.

Cathay Pacific and Dragonair carried a total of 2,405,027 passengers in October - an increase of 1.0% compared to the same month last year. The passenger load factor fell by 1.8 percentage points to 78.3%, while capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), dropped by 3.1%. For the year to date, passenger numbers have risen by 5.4% compared to a capacity increase of 4.1%.

The two airlines carried 138,608 tonnes of cargo and mail last month, an increase of 1.9% compared to October 2011. The cargo and mail load factor fell by 2.2 percentage points to 64.0%. Capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, rose by 0.5%, while cargo and mail tonne kilometres flown dropped by 2.8%. For the year to date, tonnage has declined by 7.3% against a capacity drop of 4.3%.

Cathay Pacific General Manager Revenue Management James Tong said: "Our capacity in October showed a decline for the second consecutive month as a result of the trimming of a number of long-haul frequencies introduced in September. We continue to strengthen our regional services, however, with flights to Haikou recommencing in late October. The pick-up in demand in premium cabins was slow last month. Passenger demand in the Economy cabin held up reasonably well for long-haul flights but was soft in the region. Yield remained under pressure in a highly competitive environment."

Cathay Pacific General Manager Cargo Sales & Marketing James Woodrow said: "We saw a small uptick in demand in October, driven by the launch of a number of new hi-tech consumer products out of key manufacturing centres in the region. Following a lull in demand over the long National Day holiday period in Mainland China, we were therefore able to operate close to a full freighter schedule by the end of the month. However, in the longer term, demand from Asia to Europe will continue to be affected by the economic fragility in a number of euro-zone countries."