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Cathay Pacific releases traffic figures for December 2023

Cathay Pacific releases traffic figures for December 2023

Cathay Pacific today released its traffic figures for December 2023. In the full year of 2023, the Cathay Group, comprising Cathay Pacific and HK Express, surpassed the milestone of carrying more than 20 million passengers, which compares with about three million passengers carried for the whole of 2022.

Cathay Pacific carried a total of 1,779,457 passengers in December 2023, an increase of 122.1% compared with December 2022. The month’s revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) increased 89.3% year on year. Passenger load factor decreased by 2 percentage points to 81.2%, while available seat kilometres (ASKs) increased by 94% year on year. In the full year of 2023, the number of passengers carried increased by 541.5% against a 326.8% increase in ASKs and a 396.8% increase in RPKs, as compared with 2022.

The airline carried 128,546 tonnes of cargo in December 2023, an increase of 20.7% compared with December 2022. The month’s cargo revenue tonne kilometres (RFTKs) increased 14.1% year on year. The cargo load factor decreased by 6.5 percentage points to 60.8%, while available cargo tonne kilometres (AFTKs) increased by 26.3% year on year. In the full year of 2023, the tonnage increased by 19.6% against a 59.7% increase in AFTKs and a 40.3% increase in RFTKs, as compared with 2022.

 

Travel 

Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Lavinia Lau said: “December traditionally marks the peak travel season and we saw many customers take advantage of the extended Christmas holiday to travel, resulting in strong demand for travel services throughout the month. There was overwhelming demand for travel to short-haul leisure destinations, with Japan and Southeast Asia being especially popular.

“We saw good demand for travel from the United States and the Southwest Pacific in the first half of December. The demand for travel from the United Kingdom was particularly strong as it coincided with the peak period for international students returning to Hong Kong. Furthermore, our seasonal Christchurch service, which resumed last month, was popular not only among Hong Kong customers, but also stimulated transit traffic to and from the Philippines and the United Kingdom.

 

Cargo 

“Our cargo business performed well in December, and finished on a high, primarily driven by the strong year-end demand for e-commerce products. Additionally, there was increased demand for perishable goods for the holiday season. December also saw a pickup in our Live Animal solutions with significant numbers of racehorses being moved across our network in support of the Hong Kong international race events.

“In total, we carried almost 1.4 million tonnes of air cargo throughout 2023, compared with about 1.2 million tonnes in 2022, which was an encouraging result.

 

Outlook 

“As a Group, we made significant progress in our rebuild journey in 2023. As we look ahead to 2024, we remain committed to working towards fully rebuilding our flights, with the aim of delivering the high-quality and reliable services that Hong Kong deserves. Despite the ongoing challenges that are affecting the entire global aviation industry, we are prepared to face them, as always, with determination.

“The Lunar New Year is approaching and this will mark another peak travel period when people celebrate and visit loved ones. We anticipate strong demand from late January until the end of the Lunar New Year holiday. Looking further ahead, we are also delighted to announce that our popular Barcelona service will resume in June, and we look forward to welcoming customers onboard.

“In terms of cargo, we expect demand to steadily pick up from the second half of the month with the e-commerce demand on the Americas and European lanes remaining solid and local demand strengthening up to the Lunar New Year holidays.”

The full December figures and glossary are on the following pages.

 

 

CATHAY PACIFIC TRAFFIC

DEC

2023

% Change

VS DEC 2022

 

Cumulative

DEC 2023

%

Change

YTD

RPK (000)

 

 

 

 

 - Chinese Mainland

323,033

375.5%

3,409,675

585.4%

 - North East Asia

1,049,071

106.5%

10,062,123

920.2%

 - South East Asia

929,916

104.4%

9,206,298

613.6%

 - South Asia, Middle East & Africa

448,752

129.6%

3,903,290

604.1%

 - South West Pacific

1,057,295

81.8%

9,365,105

368.0%

 - North America

1,862,265

78.7%

19,782,983

274.4%

 - Europe

1,339,963

56.9%

17,612,312

324.3%

RPK Total (000)

7,010,296

89.3%

73,341,787

396.8%

Passengers carried

1,779,457

122.1%

17,985,158

541.5%

Cargo revenue tonne km (000)

737,251

14.1%

8,098,956

40.3%

Cargo carried (000kg)

128,546

20.7%

1,380,819

19.6%

Number of flight sectors (passenger and cargo)

9,031

76.5%

89,946

114.0%

 

CATHAY PACIFIC CAPACITY

DEC

2023

% Change

VS DEC 2022

 

Cumulative

DEC 2023

%

Change

YTD

ASK (000)

 

 

 

 

 - Chinese Mainland

496,460

297.9%

4,738,355

291.4%

 - North East Asia

1,315,822

103.9%

12,436,845

731.8%

 - South East Asia

1,139,642

80.7%

11,415,632

456.5%

 - South Asia, Middle East & Africa

536,661

134.5%

4,773,863

467.5%

 - South West Pacific

1,272,252

85.1%

11,199,295

313.1%

 - North America

2,230,174

92.5%

21,535,260

213.6%

 - Europe

1,637,903

68.4%

19,508,195

299.9%

ASK Total (000)

8,628,913

94.0%

85,607,445

326.8%

Passenger load factor

81.2%

-2.0%pt

85.7%

12.1%pt

Available cargo tonne km (000)

1,211,755

26.3%

13,068,629

59.7%

Cargo load factor

60.8%

-6.5%pt

62.0%

-8.6%pt

ATK (000)

2,033,219

46.9%

21,225,405

110.2%

Glossary

Terms:

Available seat kilometres (“ASK”)

Passenger seat capacity, measured in seats available for the carriage of passengers on each sector multiplied by the sector distance.

Available tonne kilometres (“ATK”)

Overall capacity measured in tonnes available for the carriage of passengers, excess baggage, cargo on each sector multiplied by the sector distance.

Available cargo tonne kilometres (“AFTK”)

Cargo capacity measured in tonnes available for the carriage of freight on each sector multiplied by the sector distance.

Revenue passenger kilometres (“RPK”)

Number of passengers carried on each sector multiplied by the sector distance.

Cargo revenue tonne kilometres (“RFTK”)

Amount of cargo, measured in tonnes, carried on each sector multiplied by the sector distance.

Ratio:

 

                                                                     Revenue passenger kilometres/

                                                                    Cargo revenue tonne kilometres

Passenger/Cargo load factor =   ------------------------------------------------------------

                                                                      Available seat kilometres/

                                                                   Available cargo tonne kilometres

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