Cathay Pacific releases November 2002 traffic figures

Cathay Pacific Airways today released traffic figures for the month of November 2002 that show a slight slowdown in growth for both the airline's cargo and passenger operations.

In November 2002, Cathay Pacific carried 992,738 passengers, a 23.5% increase over the same month last year, though down from the 1,054,931 passengers carried in October 2002. November's passenger load factor also eased to 73.4%, down 2.4 percentage points from the previous month.

The airline carried 83,720 tonnes of cargo in November, up 12.6% from the same month a year ago, but slightly down from the 85,214 tonnes shipped in October.

Cumulative figures for the first eleven months of the year show a 9.1% increase in passenger numbers and a 16.3% increase in cargo tonnage, compared to the same period in 2001. 

Cathay Pacific General Manager Revenue Management, Sales and Distribution Ian Shiu said: "There has been no real change on recent trends: demand in November held up well even though it is not a peak travel period and business has yet to recover in First and Business Class sales." 

Cathay Pacific General Manager Cargo Kenny Tang added: "There was continued demand on routes to the US in the run-up to their Thanksgiving holiday. Even though, overall, business was a little slower we are still running ahead of our target."