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Hong Kong flag carrier carried 265,845 passengers in September, up 101.7% y-o-y
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Cargo business falls 20.6% y-o-y to 104,055 tons amid a greater-than-expected drop in demand due to weak consumer sentiment and reduced China manufacturing activity
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Cathay says it will add more flights to seize on renewed demand for air travel. It expects solid demand for air cargo in the November-December traditional cargo peak season
Passenger traffic soared but cargo volume shrank further in Cathay Pacific’s mixed performance in September, as Hong Kong’s easing of travel restrictions and removal of hotel quarantine boosted arrivals in the city while weak consumer demand weighed down on cargo business.
The airline’s cargo business continued to decline amid a greater-than-expected drop in demand compared with a year ago, which the management largely attributed to weaker consumer demand and reduced manufacturing activity in China.
The Hong Kong flag carrier carried a total of 265,845 passengers last month, a 101.7% upsurge compared with September 2021, but an 89% dive from September 2019.
Revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) increased 102.2% year-on-year, but were down 84.1% versus September 2019. Passenger load factor increased 26.7 percentage points to 72.5%.
Capacity, measured in available seat kms (ASKs), grew 27.8% y-o-y but plunged 83.8% from September 2019 levels.
In the first nine months of 2022, passenger volume surged 124.7%, capacity grew 6.7% and RPKs soared 130.6 from January-September 2021 levels.
“Cathay Pacific’s travel business continued to improve in September, helped by student traffic from Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland. Overall passenger numbers further increased month on month to over 8,800 per day, while load factor was 72.5%. Passenger flight capacity stood at about 16% of pre-pandemic levels,” Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Ronald Lam said.
“Aside from student traffic, inbound traffic to Hong Kong also improved, largely driven by demand from the US and Canada. The removal of hotel quarantine arrangements for passengers arriving in Hong Kong was a very welcome development that has helped boost sentiment for travel.”
In contrast, Cathay Pacific’s cargo business underperformed, carrying 104,055 tons of cargo last month, down 20.6% y-o-y and 39.7% from the same period in 2019. In August, carried 104,851 tons of cargo, down 15.6% y-o-y, as it operated 11% less capacity than a year ago
The month’s cargo revenue ton km (RFTK) decreased 28.3% y-o-y and were down 38.6% from September 2019 levels. The cargo load factor fell 13.3 percentage points to 66.4%, while capacity, measured in available cargo ton km (AFTK), contracted 14% y-o-y and was down 39.4% from September 2019.
In January-September 2022, tonnage fell 9.8% against a 23.7% decrease in capacity and a 31.8% drop in RFTKs, compared with the same period in 2021.
Lam said tonnage in September decreased about 21% from last year’s exceptionally high level.
“We had reduced cargo flight capacity in expectation of this and operated fewer cargo-only passenger services on long-haul routes,” Lam said.
“However, the fall in demand compared with last year was greater than predicted, largely due to weaker consumer demand and reduced manufacturing activities in the Chinese Mainland. Overall last month, cargo flight capacity was approximately 61% of pre-pandemic levels.”
Lam said Cathay will focus on adding many passenger flights, after adding more than 400 flight sectors in October to and from regional and long-haul destinations since the government’s September announcement.
He said that in addition to the flight sectors previously scheduled for November and December, Cathay will be adding close to 700 and 1,200 sectors respectively. This will add more than half a million seats for passengers to choose from, Lam said.
As for cargo, “we remain positive that there will be solid demand over the traditional cargo peak period, and while it will not reach the levels achieved last year, we expect it to still be above historical averages.”
