-
August passenger volume up 87.6% y-o-y to 253,907, as Cathay’s traffic figures continued to reflect the positive impact of Hong Kong’s further easing of travel rules
-
Cathay transported 104,851 tons of cargo, down 15.6% y-o-y, due to 11% less capacity than a year ago amid flat summer demand
-
Cathay’s average daily passenger numbers exceeded 8,000, despite operating only about 16% of its pre-COVID capacity levels as load factor stayed high at nearly 69%
Cathay Pacific’s August passenger volume grew 87.6% year on year to 253,907, as its traffic figures continued to reflect the positive impact of Hong Kong’s further easing of travel restrictions and quarantine rules, notably the mandatory hotel quarantine for inbound travellers.
The airline’s cargo business, meanwhile, was not as rosy. Cathay said it carried 104,851 tons of cargo, down 15.6% from August 2021, as it operated 11% less capacity than a year ago amid flat summer demand, it said in a statement on September 16.
Hong Kong’s flag carrier saw revenue passenger kilometers surging 82.7% y-o-y, but were down 86.1% versus August 2019. Passenger load factor climbed 22.2 percentage points to 68.6%. Capacity, measured in available seat kilometers, grew 23.5% y-o-y, but was 83.8% below August 2019 levels.
In the first eight months of 2022, the number of passengers carried increased 133.5% against a 1.6% growth in capacity and 141.9% y-o-y jump in RPKs.
“We continued to see improved performance in our travel business in August. Average daily passenger numbers further increased month on month and exceeded 8,000,” Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Ronald Lam said.
Lam said passenger flight capacity grew 28% compared with July, although the carrier operated only about 16% of its pre-pandemic levels, as load factor remained high at nearly 69%.
“Following the government’s adjustment to the hotel quarantine arrangement for travellers entering Hong Kong from August 12, we observed an increase in inbound traffic to our home hub,” Lam said, adding it was particularly so for traffic from the US, Canada and Europe.
On September 18, a Hong Kong medical expert said the government is “actively” considering changing the entry quarantine to “0+7” format, as the number of COVID patients declined to 7,322, from a high of 11,091 new patients confirmed on September 8, The Standard newspaper.
Dr Albert Au from the Centre for Health Protection said the government would actively review the current entry quarantine rule, like changing it to “0+7”, or no hotel quarantine but a new arrival must undergo 7 days of seven days of medical surveillance and no entry to high-risk places such as restaurants. Such a rule change is likely to boost arrivals.
The airline’s cargo load factor slipped 10.7 ppts to 67%, while capacity, measured in available cargo ton kilometers, fell 11.1% y-o-y, and was down 41.1% from August 2019. In the first eight months of 2022, tonnage slipped 8% versus a 25.4% drop in capacity and a 32.4% y-o-y dive in revenue cargo ton kilometers.
“In terms of cargo, we operated a full freighter schedule in August, which was supported by increased passenger flights as well as regional cargo-only passenger flights,” Lam said.
He said the decline in Cathay’s overall cargo flight capacity was due to its operation of a significant number of long-haul cargo-only passenger flights at that time.
“Overall, we operated 59% of our pre-pandemic cargo flight capacity in August. Demand has remained flat throughout the summer months, but we have continued to make all preparations to ensure smooth operations as we step into the cargo peak season,” Lam said.
