Cathay Pacific Airways today released traffic figures for February 2004 that show strong growth for cargo and the continued influence of the Chinese New Year on both cargo and passenger figures.

In February, the airline carried 933,604 passengers, down from 1,127,993 passengers in January and a 4.2 percent drop from February 2003. The differences were influenced significantly by the Chinese New Year holiday, a peak travel time, which this year was in January. Last year, the holiday fell in February. The passenger load factor was 72.7 percent, down 1.5 percentage points from February last year.

Cargo maintained strong growth, with cumulative tonnage carried up 12.4 percent in the first two months of the year. In February, the airline carried 76,937 tonnes of freight, up from 69,702 tonnes in January and 23.8 percent up from February last year. The apparent spike from February 2003 was, again, influenced by the Chinese New Year holiday, which is traditionally a slow period for cargo.

Cathay Pacific General Manager Revenue Management, Sales & Distribution Ian Shiu said: "Passenger numbers often dip following a holiday period as demand for leisure travel subsides, yet February also saw an upturn in business travel. Although demand from Korea and Japan is depressed it is not at present a cause for great concern."

Cathay Pacific General Manager Cargo Kenny Tang said: "Even after taking season peaks in troughs into account, underlying growth on trunk routes to Europe, the United States and Japan remains strong. Regional markets also performed better."

Cathay Pacific Airways
Corporate Communication Department