Cathay Pacific Airways released combined Cathay Pacific and Dragonair traffic figures for June 2016 that show an increase in both the number of passengers carried and the amount of cargo and mail uplifted compared to the same month last year.
Cathay Pacific and Dragonair carried a total of 2,870,943 passengers last month – an increase of 2.1 per cent compared to June 2015. The passenger load factor fell by 1.7 percentage points to 85.5 per cent while capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), grew by 3.3 per cent. In the first six months of 2016, the number of passengers carried rose by 2.7 per cent compared to a 4.2 per cent increase in capacity.
Commenting on the first six months of 2016, the airline’s Chief Executive, Ivan Chu said, “Our performance over the first six months of 2016 has been below expectations. Passenger revenue has been adversely affected by the reduced load factor and intense pressure on yield. Cargo tonnage has stabilised but yield continues to decline. Foreign currency movements have also been adverse.”
Patricia Hwang, General Manager- Revenue Management, Cathay Pacific said, “Passenger traffic improved in June, although the growth in passenger numbers was not able to keep pace with the capacity increase, leading to a drop in load factor. Traffic grew as summer travel began, and one of our newest destinations, Madrid, became operational. The improvement also reflected our recovery from last year’s outbound travel alert to Korea, which was issued due to MERS. However, pressure on yield remains severe, with competition increasing and premium demand continuing to fall short of expectations.”
