Cathay Pacific releases combined traffic figures for August 2011
Cathay Pacific and Dragonair carried a total of 2,510,507 passengers last month – up 3.6% on the same month last year – while the passenger load factor fell by 0.2 percentage points to 84.2%. Capacity for the month, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), was up by 7.0%. For the year to date, the number of passengers carried increased by 2% while capacity was up by 9.1%.
The two airlines carried 131,448 tonnes of cargo and mail in August, an 11.8% decrease compared to the same month last year, while the cargo and mail load factor was down 7.8 percentage points to 64.9%. Capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, was up by 1%, while cargo and mail tonne kilometres flown were down by 9.7%. For the year to date, tonnage has dropped by 6% compared to a capacity increase of 11.2%.
Cathay Pacific General Manager Revenue Management James Tong said: “Traffic in the summer peak remained strong and the increase in demand, measured in Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPK) was in line with capacity growth. We continued to see a strong performance in the region, in particular from Southeast Asia, South Korea and the secondary Chinese cities, though demand in the Middle East remained weak. Our premium traffic continued to have a strong performance and we are seeing good growth in terms of both volume and yield.”
Cathay Pacific General Manager Cargo Sales & Marketing James Woodrow said: "The market from Asia to Europe and Transpacific remained weak in August, though intra-Asia continued to perform solidly. Additional freighter frequencies to Australia were added for September due to strong imports driven by the strong Australian dollar. The first half of September overall remained soft as expected, though tonnages should start to gradually improve over the coming weeks."
| CATHAY PACIFIC / DRAGONAIR COMBINED TRAFFIC | Aug2011 | % change vs Aug10 | Cumulative Aug2011 | % change YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RPK (000) | ||||
| China | 721,947 | 1.5% | 4,926,630 | -2.3% |
| North East Asia | 1,052,080 | -7.5% | 7,170,779 | -9.9% |
| South East Asia | 1,196,764 | 13.5% | 8,797,663 | 14.0% |
| India, Middle East, Pakistan & Sri Lanka | 713,591 | 5.0% | 5,733,068 | 0.3% |
| Europe | 1,774,602 | 4.2% | 12,658,966 | 6.2% |
| South West Pacific & South Africa | 1,174,730 | 5.7% | 9,357,118 | -3.4% |
| North America | 2,436,977 | 16.3% | 18,175,307 | 13.4% |
| RPK Total (000) | 9,070,691 | 6.8% | 66,819,531 | 4.3% |
| Passengers carried | 2,510,507 | 3.6% | 18,210,574 | 2.0% |
| Cargo and mail tonne km (000) | 783,020 | -9.7% | 6,428,618 | -2.1% |
| Cargo and mail carried (000Kg) | 131,448 | -11.8% | 1,107,378 | -6.0% |
| Number of flights | 5,494 | 5.5% | 42,147 | 8.8% |
| CATHAY PACIFIC / DRAGONAIR COMBINED CAPACITY | Aug2011 | % change vs Aug2011 | Cumulative Aug2011 | % change YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASK (000) | ||||
| China | 874,396 | 3.7% | 6,693,802 | 5.6% |
| North East Asia | 1,255,151 | -3.0% | 9,961,727 | 5.0% |
| South East Asia | 1,429,040 | 13.9% | 10,559,060 | 13.6% |
| India, Middle East, Pakistan & Sri Lanka | 983,794 | 7.6% | 7,534,378 | 2.9% |
| Europe | 1,979,255 | 1.6% | 15,112,776 | 10.1% |
| South West Pacific & South Africa | 1,541,280 | 5.4% | 12,529,371 | 3.4% |
| North America | 2,704,855 | 15.5% | 20,276,347 | 15.7% |
| ASK Total (000) | 10,767,771 | 7.0% | 82,667,461 | 9.1% |
| Passenger load factor | 84.2% | -0.2pt | 80.8% | -3.7pt |
| Available cargo and mail tonne km (000) | 1,206,129 | 1.0% | 9,492,029 | 11.2% |
| Cargo and mail load factor | 64.9% | -7.8pt | 67.7% | -9.3pt |
| ATK (000) | 2,230,123 | 3.7% | 17,355,395 | 10.2% |
