CATHAY PACIFIC RELEASES SEPTEMBER TRAFFIC FIGURES

Cathay Pacific Airways saw passenger and cargo numbers decline substantially during September due to the general economic slowdown and the impact of the US terrorist attacks on travel and tourism demand. The number of passengers carried declined by 12.1% compared to the same month in 2000 to 871,126, and the amount of cargo carried fell 12.2% to 61,420 tonnes.

Trans-Pacific routes were the worst affected with revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) falling by 17.6%. Southeast Asian routes were less affected with RPKs falling a more modest 4.9%. The overall passenger load factor was 68.4%, a fall of 7.3 percentage points. Passenger yields continued to decline due to the weakness in demand for First and Business Class travel. This year's trend of falling cargo yields also continued.

Cathay Pacific’s General Manager Network Revenue Ian Shiu said: “The significant decline in passengers and cargo can be attributed to the general economic slowdown and the impact of the tragic events of 11 September. We expect market conditions to remain very challenging for the foreseeable future.”