Cathay Pacific group’s combined traffic figures for July 2020 reflect the Hong Kong flag carrier’s continued substantial capacity reductions amid the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic.
Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon carried a total of 42,984 passengers last month, a decrease of 98.7% compared to July 2019, the airline company said in a release. Revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) fell 98.1% year-on-year. Passenger load factor dropped by 62.6 percentage points to 23.4%, while capacity, measured in available seat kilometers, decreased by 92.9%.
In the first seven months of 2020, the number of passengers carried dropped by 79.4% against a 69.9% decrease in capacity and a 76.6% decrease in RPKs, as compared to the same period for 2019.
“Passenger volume showed signs of slight improvement in the beginning of July, fuelled by a boost in the number of transit passengers via Hong Kong,” Cathay Pacific Group chief customer and commercial officer Ronald Lam said.
“However, demand tapered down towards the end of the month as new waves of COVID-19 cases arose in numerous countries. As a result, passenger volume increased at a lower rate than capacity for July, and load factor further dipped to 23.4%.”
Meanwhile, the two airlines carried 102,129 tonnes of cargo and mail last month, a decrease of 39.8% compared to July 2019. The month’s revenue freight tonne kilometers (RFTKs) fell 33.3% year-on-year. The cargo and mail load factor increased by 12.7 percentage points to 75.8%, while capacity was down by 44.5%.
In the first seven months of 2020, the tonnage fell by 33.1% against a 33% drop in capacity and a 25.9% decrease in RFTKs, as compared to the same period for 2019.
Cargo continues to be the better performer of the business, improving tonnage month-on-month by approximately 10%, said Lam. This was still significantly down from last year’s levels due to the significant reduction in cargo capacity provided by belly space on the airline’s passenger flights. Load factor remained high at 75.8%.
Cathay Pacific has recorded an attributable loss of HKD9.865 billion (US$1.273 billion) in the first half of 2020, as the airline described this period as the most challenging in its more than 70-year history.
Looking ahead, Lam said the global aviation sector continues to face major headwinds.
“In addition to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have to contend with a looming global recession and geopolitical tensions, which are expected to have a negative impact on both air travel and cargo demand. It is obvious that there will be no return to normal demand conditions any time soon,” he said.
Photo courtesy of Cathay Pacific
