Cathay Pacific and Dragonair carried a total of 2,611,868 passengers in June – an increase of 5.1% compared to the same month in 2013. The passenger load factor rose by 1.0 percentage points to 85.9% while capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), increased by 6.9%. For the year to the end of June, the passenger volume rose by 6.5% while capacity was up 5.3%.

The two airlines carried 140,444 tonnes of cargo and mail in June, an increase of 15.0% compared to the same month last year. The cargo and mail load factor rose by 3.2 percentage points to 64.9%. Capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, rose by 10.2% while cargo and mail revenue tonne kilometres (RTKs) flown were up by 16.0%. For the year to the end of June, tonnage rose by 8.6% while capacity was up by 10.8% and RTKs increased by 12.1%.

Cathay Pacific General Manager Revenue Management James Tong said: “Passenger traffic was generally robust across the network in June, though demand in Southeast Asia was affected by various factors including the political situation in Thailand. Traffic was particularly strong to Korea and Japan in Northeast Asia, while flights to and from Australia/New Zealand, Europe and North America saw very high load factors. Our fourth daily flight to Los Angeles launched in June and demand has been encouraging so far. The contribution of the Premium Economy cabin to our business continues to grow, but pressure on yield remains a concern in all classes.”

Cathay Pacific General Manager Cargo Sales & Marketing Mark Sutch said: “The upswing in cargo demand seen in May continued through into June, with a surge towards the end of the month as shippers rushed to meet month-end and quarter-end deadlines. Demand remained robust out of Hong Kong and Mainland China, particularly on the transpacific lanes. Shipments of perishable items continued to boost load factors out of North America back into Asia, while Europe benefited from higher-yield shipments of specialised products.”