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Cathay Pacific releases combined traffic figures for December 2015

Cathay Pacific Airways today released combined Cathay Pacific and Dragonair traffic figures for December 2015 that show an increase in both the number of passengers carried and the volume of cargo and mail uplifted compared to the same month in 2014.

Cathay Pacific and Dragonair carried a total of 2,933,382 passengers last month – an increase of 5.8% compared to December 2014. The passenger load factor grew by 1.5 percentage points to 85.0% while capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), grew by 6.0%. For 2015 as a whole, passenger traffic rose by 7.9% while capacity increased by 5.9%.

The two airlines carried 158,741 tonnes of cargo and mail in December, a 1.4% increase compared to the same month last year. The cargo and mail load factor fell by 0.3 percentage points to 67.9%. Capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, was up by 2.4% while cargo and mail revenue tonne kilometres (RTKs) flown increased by 2.0%. For 2015 as a whole, tonnage rose by 4.3% against a capacity increase of 5.4% and a 5.4% rise in RTKs.

Cathay Pacific General Manager Revenue Management Patricia Hwang said: “As expected, we handled high volumes of passengers as the Christmas travel peak got underway. We operated fewer pairs of extra sectors than Christmas last year – 31 compared to 35 – but this was balanced by more scheduled capacity on a number of routes. Traffic to holiday hotspots such as Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Singapore was very high, though demand to Bangkok was still being affected by the bombing incident in 2015. We also saw strong demand on most of our long-haul routes, especially in the Economy cabin. However, unfavourable currency movements continued to have a considerable impact on yield.”

Cathay Pacific General Manager Cargo Sales & Marketing Mark Sutch said: “The seasonal peak for airfreight lasted until the week before Christmas and our performance in December, at least in terms of tonnage lifted, was marginally ahead of expectations. Demand on the transpacific and Indian routes remained robust. Unfortunately, the excess of capacity in the world’s air cargo markets made it difficult for carriers to get rates up to the kind of levels expected during the year-end peak. Overcapacity and pressure on yield will remain concerns for the industry moving into the New Year.”

CATHAY PACIFIC / DRAGONAIR COMBINED TRAFFIC

DEC

2015

% Change

VS DEC 14

Cumulative

DEC 2015

% Change

YTD

RPK (000)

 

 

 

 

 - Mainland China

690,708

6.6%

8,996,766

6.9%

 - North East Asia

1,361,825

3.3%

15,406,232

4.9%

 - South East Asia

1,563,416

2.8%

17,180,162

13.4%

- India, Middle East, Pakistan & Sri Lanka

722,882

3.5%

8,397,933

-1.9%

 - South West Pacific & South Africa

1,709,817

13.4%

17,278,059

12.6%

 - North America

2,848,987

3.7%

33,862,819

7.2%

 - Europe

1,750,062

22.0%

21,208,055

14.5%

RPK Total (000)

10,647,697

7.8%

122,330,026

9.0%

Passengers carried

2,933,382

5.8%

34,064,859

7.9%

Cargo and mail revenue tonne km (000)

952,471

2.0%

10,586,211

5.4%

Cargo and mail carried (000kg)

158,741

1.4%

1,797,785

4.3%

Number of flights

6,813

2.6%

78,634

4.2%

 

CATHAY PACIFIC / DRAGONAIR COMBINED CAPACITY

DEC

2015

% Change

VS DEC 14

Cumulative

DEC 2015

% Change

YTD

ASK (000)

 

 

 

 

 - Mainland China

960,296

1.5%

11,360,398

1.0%

 - North East Asia

1,680,999

1.9%

18,905,877

2.8%

 - South East Asia

1,842,974

4.1%

20,641,351

10.8%

- India, Middle East, Pakistan & Sri Lanka

868,789

4.8%

10,127,374

-5.2%

 - South West Pacific & South Africa

1,835,935

7.9%

19,350,047

7.3%

 - North America

3,294,918

1.2%

38,326,225

4.5%

 - Europe

2,047,889

22.8%

23,969,305

13.8%

ASK Total (000)

12,531,800

6.0%

142,680,577

5.9%

Passenger load factor

85.0%

1.5pt

85.7%

2.4pt

Available cargo/mail tonne km (000)

1,402,654

2.4%

16,481,022

5.4%

Cargo and mail load factor

67.9%

-0.3pt

64.2%

-0.1pt

ATK (000)

2,594,302

4.0%

30,047,974

5.7%