Cathay Pacific Airways today released combined Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon traffic figures for November 2016 that show a decrease in the number of passengers carried and an increase in the amount of cargo and mail uplifted compared to the same month last year.
Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon carried a total of 2,636,525 passengers last month – a decrease of 5.1% compared to November 2015. The passenger load factor dropped by 1.4 percentage points to 83.5%, while capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), decreased by 2.3%. During the first eleven months of the year, the number of passengers carried rose by 0.7% compared to a 2.5% increase in capacity.
The two airlines carried 167,520 tonnes of cargo and mail in November, an increase of 4.6% compared to the same month last year. The cargo and mail load factor rose by 1.1 percentage points to 68.1%. Capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, decreased by 1.9%, while cargo and mail revenue tonne kilometres (RTKs) decreased by 0.2%. In the year to the end of November, the tonnage carried rose by 2.5% against a 0.3% increase in capacity and there was an increase of 0.3% in RTKs.
Cathay Pacific General Manager Revenue Management Patricia Hwang said: “The decrease in passenger traffic during November was expected as we operated fewer flights primarily to complement the cutover of the new air traffic control system at Hong Kong International Airport. November is traditionally a peak month for corporate travel, and while we did see some positive movement in this area, demand proved softer than in previous years. Sales in the United States were impacted by the presidential election, while Mainland China sales continued to weaken as a result of overcapacity in the market. Competition remains intense, with yield under considerable pressure.”
Cathay Pacific General Manager Cargo Sales & Marketing Mark Sutch said: “November saw our tonnage continue to grow, which was backed by strong exports of new products from Mainland China and Hong Kong, as well as special products from Northeast Asia and the Americas. During the peak there were more ocean-to-air conversions. Apart from an increased load factor, yields have also improved month-on-month. In November, we introduced our twice-weekly freighter service to Portland, Oregon to support the growing export demand of a range of commodities from the Pacific Northwest of the US to Asia. We also launched a once-per-week freighter service to Brisbane West Wellcamp for carrying fresh produce and machineries in and out of the Southeast Queensland region.”