Cathay Pacific and Dragonair carried a total of 2,476,776 passengers in November – an increase of 4.9% compared to the same month last year. The passenger load factor was up 2.1 percentage points to 81.3%, while capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), increased by 3.1%. For the year to date, the number of passengers carried is up 3.3% against a capacity drop of 2.3%.

The two airlines carried 147,450 tonnes of cargo and mail last month, an increase of 4.7% compared to November 2012. The cargo and mail load factor fell by 0.2 percentage points to 63.7%. Capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, increased by 8.5% while cargo and mail revenue tonne kilometres flown were up by 8.1%. For the year to date, tonnage has fallen by 1.1% while capacity has shown a 1.7% increase.

Cathay Pacific General Manager Revenue Management James Tong said: “Demand on long-haul routes remained robust in November, in all classes of travel. Traffic in the Economy cabin for short-haul routes was in line with expectations, with Japan and Korea in particular performing well. However, demand in the premium cabins within the region was weaker than hoped. The Premium Economy cabin was opened for sale on regional routes from late October and load factors are beginning to grow. This product has helped to improve overall yield in the Economy cabin.”

Cathay Pacific General Manager Cargo Sales & Marketing Mark Sutch said: “The increase in volumes that began in late October continued to gain momentum in November and we ramped up capacity on key long-haul routes accordingly. The surge in traffic was driven by hi-tech consumer goods being shipped out Mainland China and other major manufacturing centres in Asia. Demand was especially robust on transpacific routes and the momentum was maintained through to the Thanksgiving holiday at the end of the month.”