Dragonair pleased with positive Cargo Results

Dragonair's freighter operation posted a rise in the amount of cargo carried in April, despite the tough operating environment resulting from the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

The airline's three freighters carried 11,870 tonnes of cargo, up 2.27% from the previous month. The total amount of cargo carried by Dragonair in April was slightly lower, however, due to the reduction in cargo belly space resulting from the scaling back of the airline's passenger services.

"Cargo remains a bright spot for us," said Dragonair's Chief Executive Officer, Stanley Hui. "Global demand for the goods produced in the world's manufacturing base of the China mainland continues to drive the engine of trade in these difficult times.

"But there are other destinations where belly cargo is also performing well, such as Dhaka in Bangladesh, where we applied to operate extra A330 services at the end of April primarily due to increased cargo demand in the market."

Meanwhile, the devastating effect of SARS on travel was reflected in the airline flying a total of only 71,283 passengers in April.

"The SARS outbreak had a sudden and sharp impact on travel, and as a result we had to scale back flights by 50% in April from planned frequencies," Mr. Hui said.

"The outbreak appears to be easing in Hong Kong, but until it is brought under control in our two major markets of the China mainland and Taiwan, and the quarantine measures for arrival passengers uplifted in certain cities, the travel market will continue to be very slow."