Holiday Period sees Dragonair Passenger numbers Climb Year-on-Year

The start of both 2004 and the Year of the Monkey in the same month resulted in a significant rise in the number of passengers carried by Dragonair in January compared with one year earlier. Some 333,488 people flew with the airline, up 18.7% on the 280,976 who flew in January last year.

"One of the reasons for the large increase is that the Lunar New Year took place in February last year, so the comparison is somewhat flattering, but the underlying trend is still positive," said Chief Executive Officer Stanley Hui.

"Demand in January is also traditionally lower than for the peak holiday period over Christmas and New Year, and this was reflected in a 3.2% month-on-month decline, in line with usual trends."

A similar pattern was seen in cargo. The airline carried 19,028 tonnes in January, up on the same month in 2003, but down on the previous month.

"Cargo also followed the traditional trend of tailing off after Christmas, but again, was 4.2% higher than at the same time last year," Mr. Hui said. "February is also usually a quieter month, but we are looking to build on a record-breaking 2003 and will be looking for an even better overall year in 2004."