Dragonair posts substantial gains in July 2002

Dragonair recorded increases in passenger and cargo numbers on both a year-on-year and month-on-month basis in July. Topping the gains was a strong 68.33% surge in cargo volume compared with July 2001, while on the passenger side the number of travellers jumped 16.03% over one year earlier.

The launch of passenger and freighter services to Taipei at the end of last month played a part in the rises. 

The airline carried 299,356 passengers in July, compared with 257,996 one year earlier. On a month-on-month basis the number of passengers travelling rose 6.82% with 280,248 flown in June 2002.

"The addition of 22 flights a week to Taipei added capacity to our network, boosting the number of passengers and amount of freight we flew," said Stanley Hui, Chief Executive Officer of Dragonair. "The connectivity we are able to offer passengers and shippers alike from Taipei to mainland China through our Hong Kong hub is clearly proving popular with travellers and shippers."

Dragonair carried 15,744 tonnes of cargo in July, compared with 9,353 tonnes in the same month last year. Month-on-month volume was up 3.56%; 15,203 tonnes were carried in June 2002.

"Taipei was a definite factor in the increase," said Mr. Hui, "but the fact is that overall demand continues to be more robust than at the same time last year. With the second half of the year traditionally strong for both passengers and cargo we are very optimistic about the prospects for the remainder of the year."

Dragonair is a Hong Kong-based airline, operating a fleet of eight A330-300s, four A321s and eight A320s, in addition to two Boeing 747-300 freighters. The airline's passenger network covers 28 destinations across the Asia-Pacific region, while its freighter network connects the markets of Europe, the Middle East, Japan, Taiwan and mainland China.