Swine flu fears hit Cathay loads
Monday, 13 Jul, 2009
0
Cathay Pacific and partner Dragonair saw passenger carryings fall sharply last month, partially blamed on swine flu.
The two airlines saw passenger numbers drop by more than 18% to 1.7 million in June over the same month last year while the load factor fell by 4.5 percentage points to 76.8%.
For the year to date, the number of passengers carried has fallen 4.2% while capacity has declined by 2.1%.
Cathay’s general manager revenue management Tom Owen said: “We usually see a pickup in demand in June as summer approaches, but this year demand was depressed by the ongoing global economic recession and the reluctance of passengers to fly as a result of the widely reported H1N1 outbreak.
“The H1N1 situation had a particularly severe impact in our largest market, Hong Kong, and within the region, especially on Japanese routes.
“Premium cabin demand showed no signs of life but was at least stable.
“Aggressive competition for economy class passengers in all markets continued to provide very few opportunities for sustainable yield improvement."
by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Clearing CSS/JS assets' cache... Please wait until this notice disappears...
Updating... Please wait...
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Skyscanner reveals major travel trends 2026 at ITB Asia
In Italy, the Meloni government congratulates itself for its tourism achievements