Passenger Numbers Climb 10.5% for Dragonair in February

Dragonair’s passenger numbers for February 2005 posted a 10.5% month-on-month rise, boosted by the Lunar New Year holidays.

The number of passenger flying with the airline was 374,550, up from 338,903 in January. Year-on-year the increase was 34.9%, although it was not a like-for-like comparison as the Lunar New Year fell in January last year.

“The first two months of this year saw robust double-digit growth in both passenger numbers and cargo compared with the same period last year,” said Dragonair CEO Stanley Hui. “We flew 16.7% more passengers and carried 20.8% more freight, signalling a continuing growth trend overall.

“The Lunar New year holidays are a traditionally busy time for holiday travel and this year was no exception. There was a very strong surge in group traffic, which was 52% higher than in the Lunar New Year period last year. But individual travellers continued to be the biggest travelling segment.

“Bangkok and Kota Kinabalu saw significant growth, hopefully signalling that travellers are returning to destinations in Southeast Asia following the tragic tsunami at the end of last year.”

The Lunar New Year is traditionally a quieter time for freight.

“Cargo demand drops in all markets over the Lunar New Year, as production in factories in the China Mainland and Taiwan reduces significantly,” Mr. Hui explained. Shipments fell 27.3% month-on-month and 8% year-on-year. 

“But demand will begin to pick up again from here once production returns to normal, and we anticipate a very good year for our cargo operation.”

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