Cathay sees premium traffic upturn

HONG KONG – Cathay Pacific and Dragonair traffic figures for September 2009 show a decrease in passenger numbers compared with the same month last year.

Cathay Pacific and Dragonair carried a total of 1,840,082 passengers in September, down two percent against the same month in 2008 – while capacity for the month, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), was down by 9.7 percent.

The month’s load factor was up 7.9 percentage points to 80.2 percent. For the first nine months of the year, the number of passengers carried has fallen by 3.8 percent compared to a capacity decline of 3.9 percent.

Cathay Pacific general manager revenue management Tom Owen said, "September saw a welcome seasonal upturn in demand for premium traffic with an improved share of the overall business, but at volumes and yields still well below previous years.

“Several special events including Indonesian Lebaran and the Japanese silver week holidays helped boost regional leisure demand for the month.

“Reduced capacity, especially on some long haul routes, provided the context for the higher load factors and improved efficiency levels on several routes compared to the recent past."