Cathay Pacific Airways, which will be participating at this year’s BITE (Bahrain International Travel Expo) has released combined Cathay Pacific and Dragonair traffic figures for March 2010 which show a significant rise in passenger volumes and cargo and mail tonnage compared to the same month last year.
During March, Cathay Pacific and Dragonair carried a total of 2,221,694 passengers – up six per cent on March 2009. The month’s passenger load factor was 85.7 per cent, an increase of 6.6 percentage points, while capacity for the month, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), decreased by 1.6 per cent. For the first three months of 2010 combined, the number of passengers carried was up 6.4 per cent compared to an ASK drop of 1.6 per cent.
The two airlines carried a total of 159,270 tonnes of cargo and mail in March, up 22.9 per cent on March last year. The cargo and mail load factor was 81.7 per cent, a rise of 13.8 percentage points, while capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, was up by 0.7 per cent. For the year to date, a tonnage rise of 24.1 per cent compared to a capacity decline of 1.1 per cent.
Cathay Pacific general manager revenue management, Tom Owen, said: “Passenger volume and yield trends continued to improve through the month, which finished with a boost to leisure traffic in the lead up to the Easter holidays. Premium demand was also sustained at levels significantly higher than during last year’s market crash, but still fell short of the pre-recession levels we used to enjoy. Forward demand recovery off last year’s low base in both our business and economy cabins remains encouraging over the next few months.”
Cathay Pacific general manager cargo Mainland China & Hong Kong, James Woodrow, said: “Demand in March was strong with improved yield and particularly high load factors. Regional traffic continued its good start to the year. Additional freighter flights were added in the second half of March to cope with the peak demand and the outlook for April continues to be promising.”