Cathay Pacific releases July 2002 traffic figures

Cathay Pacific Airways today released traffic figures for July 2002 which show significant growth in both cargo volume and passenger numbers over the same month in 2001. However, the comparisons are distorted by the fact that in July 2001 the combined effects of Typhoon Utor and industrial action by the HKAOA heavily impacted the airline's business.

In July 2002 Cathay Pacific carried 1,109,918 passengers, 30.4% higher than the same month last year. There was a 10% growth in the number of passengers carried in July compared to June 2002, reflecting the start of the summer peak season. The passenger load factor for July was 82%.

A total of 72,343 tonnes of freight was carried in July this year, up 5.6% compared to the previous month and 34.4% up on July 2001. 

Cumulative figures for the first seven months of the year show that cargo tonnage has increased by 16.4% over last year, while the number of passengers carried rose by 4.4%. The total number of flights from January through July was down 0.2% on last year reflecting the airline's previous reduction in capacity following the downturn in the second half of 2001.

Cathay Pacific General Manager Revenue Management, Sales & Distribution Ian Shiu said: "Overall, we're encouraged by the passenger numbers for July 2002 and high load factors leading into the summer peak. However, yields remain soft, with demand for travel in the front end still a bit weaker than we'd like."

Cathay Pacific General Manager Cargo Kenny Tang said: "Cargo traffic was strong out of Hong Kong in July with healthy export traffic to North America in particular. Starting this month, the figures also reflect the full integration of Air Hong Kong's European routes into the Cathay Pacific cargo network."

Note: Air Hong Kong European routes are included and traffic statistics figures are restated from July 2001 for comparison purposes.