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Cathay Pacific releases combined traffic figures for February 2015

Cathay Pacific Airways today released combined Cathay Pacific and Dragonair traffic figures for the February 2015 that show a double-digit 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 2,675,549 passengers in February – an increase of 12.4% compared to the same month last year. The passenger load factor grew by 3.0 percentage points to 84.9% while capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), increased by 7.8%. In the first two months of the year, passenger traffic grew by 7.4% while capacity was up by 7.5%

The two airlines carried 130,467 tonnes of cargo and mail last month, an increase of 28.8% compared to the previous February. The cargo and mail load factor rose by 6.2 percentage points to 65.5%. Capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, rose by 25.6% while cargo and mail revenue tonne kilometres (RTKs) flown climbed by 38.7%. In the first two months of the year, tonnage rose by 19.6% against a capacity increase of 16.0% and a 24.5% rise in RTKs.

Cathay Pacific General Manager Revenue Management Patricia Hwang said: “Passenger traffic in February was boosted by the Chinese New Year holiday, which fell in January in the previous year. It was a very strong peak in terms of leisure demand, with new daily and weekly passenger uplift records set for both airlines. The key routes this year were North Asia, and Japan in particular, and the major holiday destinations in Southeast Asia. Demand on the Southwest Pacific routes, to Australia and New Zealand, was robust throughout the month. While it helped to spur leisure traffic, the holiday period led to a dip in demand in the premium cabins.”

Cathay Pacific General Manager Cargo Sales & Marketing Mark Sutch said: “The high-year-on-year tonnage growth reflects the overall improvement in the world’s air cargo markets compared to early 2014, along with the extra capacity added by Cathay Pacific in response to the increase in demand. February’s figures were spurred by a surge in exports prior to Mainland factories shutting down for the Chinese New Year holidays. Demand fell away over the holiday period, as expected, but saw quite a rapid pick-up, particularly on the North American lanes.”

CATHAY PACIFIC / DRAGONAIR COMBINED TRAFFIC

FEB

2015

% Change

VS FEB 14

Cumulative

FEB 2015

% Change

YTD

RPK (000)

 

 

 

 

 - Mainland China

745,465

11.2%

1,376,070

-0.1%

 - North East Asia

1,308,650

16.3%

2,500,234

12.4%

 - South East Asia

1,335,623

18.3%

2,686,833

14.5%

- India, Middle East, Pakistan & Sri Lanka

592,507

-1.2%

1,286,607

-2.0%

 - South West Pacific & South Africa

1,374,818

9.9%

2,877,703

9.1%

 - North America

2,383,734

12.7%

5,181,445

11.9%

 - Europe

1,429,072

8.2%

3,077,661

5.5%

RPK Total (000)

9,169,869

11.7%

18,986,553

8.8%

Passengers carried

2,675,549

12.4%

5,288,513

7.4%

Cargo and mail revenue tonne km (000)

761,117

38.7%

1,619,997

24.5%

Cargo and mail carried (000kg)

130,467

28.8%

277,742

19.6%

Number of flights

6,060

8.3%

12,570

5.8%

 

CATHAY PACIFIC / DRAGONAIR COMBINED CAPACITY

FEB

2015

% Change

VS FEB 14

Cumulative

FEB 2015

% Change

YTD

ASK (000)

 

 

 

 

 - Mainland China

880,043

-0.1%

1,822,784

-2.0%

 - North East Asia

1,577,110

13.5%

3,139,641

10.4%

 - South East Asia

1,602,306

15.8%

3,310,602

12.0%

- India, Middle East, Pakistan & Sri Lanka

747,648

-11.3%

1,583,234

-11.2%

 - South West Pacific & South Africa

1,581,263

8.9%

3,293,966

7.9%

 - North America

2,769,543

11.9%

5,983,419

14.5%

 - Europe

1,643,131

2.9%

3,543,847

5.3%

ASK Total (000)

10,801,044

7.8%

22,677,493

7.5%

Passenger load factor

84.9%

3.0pt

83.7%

1.0pt

Available cargo/mail tonne km (000)

1,161,986

25.6%

2,516,277

16.0%

Cargo and mail load factor

65.5%

6.2pt

64.4%

4.4pt

ATK (000)

2,189,060

16.5%

4,672,801

11.9%