DRAGONAIR RECORDS SOLID NUMBERS IN JUNE 2002

30 July 2002

Dragonair posted double-digit rises year-on-year in both passenger and cargo traffic in June, with passenger numbers up 14.73% and freight volumes jumping 68.92%.

The airline carried 280,248 passengers in the month, compared with 244,273 one year earlier. 

On a month-on-month basis the number of passengers travelling slipped 2.7%, with 288,055 passengers flown in May 2002. The difference was due to the increased travel activity over the Labour Day holiday at the start of May and was in line with traditional trends.

"Passenger numbers are seasonally slightly lower in June than in May and this year has been no exception," said Stanley Hui, Chief Executive Officer of Dragonair. "The underlying trend remains positive."

Dragonair carried 15,203 tonnes of cargo in June, compared with 9,000 tonnes in the same month last year. Month-on-month volume was up 1.9%; 14,922 tonnes were carried in May 2002.

"Cargo demand remains robust," said Mr. Hui, "even though June is seasonally considered an off-peak month.

"The good result is down to robust economic development in China, the work of our cargo sales staff, and has seen us achieve record levels of business in the markets of Osaka and Taiwan. This bodes particularly well for the start of our services to Taipei this month."

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 cargo network connects the markets of Europe, the Middle East, Japan, Taiwan and mainland China. Taipei was launched as its most recent destination for passengers and freight earlier this month.