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Cathay Pacific flew 150,077 passengers in June amid easing of COVID restrictions
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Cargo tonnage gained more than 13% month on month but volume fell 4.4% y-o-y and was 36.2% lower than in June 2019
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Cathay expects further improvement in both passenger and cargo volumes
Cathay Pacific flew 150,077 passengers in June, a 269.2% surge year on year, and carried 104,559 tons of cargo, down 4.4% from June 2021, according to monthly traffic data released on July 15 by the Hong Kong flag carrier.
The passenger traffic data reflects the positive impact of further easing of Hong Kong’s travel restrictions and quarantine requirements, notably the circuit-breaker mechanism effective June 1.
Cathay’s passenger volume last month was 95.2% below the pre-pandemic level in June 2019. Revenue passenger kilometers soared 320.2% y-o-y, but still 91.7% below June 2019 level.
Passenger load factor rose 45.3 percentage points to 67%, while capacity, measured in available seat kilometers, climbed 36.2% y-o-y, but was 89.3% lower than in June 2019.
In the first six months of 2022, the number of passengers carried increased 113.5% against a 26.6% rise in the same period in 2021.
The airline’s cargo volume in June was 36.2% lower than in the same month in 2019. Its cargo revenue ton kilometers (RFTKs) fell 14.6% y-o-y and were down 39.1% from June 2019.
The cargo load factor fell 12.1 percentage points to 68.4%, while capacity, measured in available cargo ton kilometers, was up 0.5% y-o-y but down 44.1% versus June 2019.
Cathay said that in the first six months this year, its tonnage decreased 4.3%, against a 31% drop in capacity and a 35.7% fall in RFTKs from the same period in 2021.
“We continued to see positive developments in June following further adjustments to travel restrictions in Hong Kong,” chief customer and commercial officer Ronald Lam said. With upbeat travel sentiment, Cathay resumed flights to more destinations and deployed additional passenger flight capacity – “about 170% more than we did in May” – to meet the demand.
The airline operated about 11% of its pre-pandemic capacity, Lam said. But its load factor rose to 67% and the airline carried on average more than 5,000 passengers per day, he added.
Lam said there was increased demand for flights between the UK and Australia, as well as between the US and the Philippines.
“As is typical for June, demand for student travel into Hong Kong was strong and our flights from the UK averaged high load factors of 93%,” Lam said.
As for cargo, Cathay Pacific resumed its full freighter schedule in June with more flights deployed to the Americas and Europe complemented by the belly capacity of its increased passenger flights and more than 600 pairs of regional cargo-only passenger flights.
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“In total, we operated about 56% of our pre-pandemic cargo flight capacity last month. Tonnage picked up month on month in our home market, Hong Kong, underpinned by more stable cross-border feeder services,” Lam said.
He said tonnage from China also improved as pandemic restrictions eased. Cargo traffic from the Americas and Europe has been encouraging, with increased frequencies on long-haul services bringing more cargo to Asia.
Overall, tonnage grew over 13% month on month, but was below June 2021 levels, Lam said, adding this was largely due to reduced North American and European consumer demand and lingering supply chain disruptions .
“Looking ahead, we welcome the Hong Kong SAR government’s recent decision to suspend the circuit-breaker mechanism effective July 7, which will help provide customers with far greater certainty and confidence when flying to and transiting via Hong Kong,” Lam said.
“In terms of cargo, we are anticipating that demand will pick up as we step out from the traditionally slower summer months and into the usual peak cargo season,” Lam said. Cathay targets to operate about 65% of its pre-pandemic cargo capacity by yearend.
