Cathay Pacific Releases Combined Traffic Figures for September 2009

Cathay Pacific Airways today released combined Cathay Pacific and Dragonair traffic figures for September 2009 that show a decrease in passenger numbers and cargo and mail tonnage compared with the same month last year.

Cathay Pacific and Dragonair carried a total of 1,840,082 passengers in September - down 2% against the same month in 2008 - while capacity for the month, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), was down by 9.7%. The month's load factor was up 7.9 percentage points to 80.2%. For the first nine months of the year, the number of passengers carried has fallen by 3.8% compared to a capacity decline of 3.9%.

The two airlines carried a total of 133,301 tonnes of cargo and mail last month, down 5.8% on September 2008, while the cargo and mail load factor rose by 7.9 percentage points to 74.40%. Capacity for the month, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, was 13.6% down. For the first nine months of the year, tonnage has fallen by 12.3% against a capacity reduction of 13.9%.

Cathay Pacific General Manager Revenue Management Tom Owen said: "September saw a welcome seasonal upturn in demand for premium traffic with an improved share of the overall business, but at volumes and yields still well below previous years. Several special events including Indonesian Lebaran and the Japanese silver week holidays helped boost regional leisure demand for the month. Reduced capacity, especially on some long haul routes, provided the context for the higher load factors and improved efficiency levels on several routes compared to the recent past."

Cathay Pacific General Manager Cargo Sales & Marketing Titus Diu said: "The trend of plummeting yields that began in fourth quarter 2008 and continued through second quarter of 2009 has stopped as volumes have strengthened. We have experienced a gradual improvement in both volume and yield, albeit from a low base. However, it is still too soon to say whether these improvements are the beginning of a sustained recovery."