Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific continues to grow well, as they produce positive passenger numbers in May 2024.
The airline has come far over the course of 2024, producing steady double-digit growth.
Without further ado, let’s get into it…
Numbers from Hong Kong: Strong Growth at Cathay Pacific…
In May 2024, Cathay Pacific handled 1,678,532 passengers, which was an increase of 18.4% compared to the same period last year.
Furthermore, passenger load factors did decrease by 4.8% to 80.3%, with ASKs increasing by 28% year-on-year.
In the first five months of this year, the airline has handled over 8.8m passengers, a 40.7% increase.
Cargo tonnage saw around 121,088 handled, which is an increase of 10.2% compared to last year.
However, cargo load factor decreased by 2.1% to 59.4%.
In the first five months of 2024, Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific handled 594,896 tonnes, a 10.2% increase.
Lau: May Was Quiet But Increased Demand Was There…
Commenting on the results was Cathay Pacific Chief Customer & Commercial Officer, Lavinia Lau:
“May was, as expected, a slightly quieter period for our travel business compared with previous months as demand slowed down, particularly on our regional routes.”
“Without any long-weekend holidays in Hong Kong, we experienced a 4% decrease in passenger numbers compared with April, when multiple holidays drove strong leisure demand.”
“However, compared with the same month last year, passenger numbers were 18% higher.
“We saw increased demand from various countries in Southeast Asia due to the school holidays there.”
“Additionally, our long-haul services were boosted by the return of student traffic to Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland from North America, resulting in 90% load factors on our United States and Canada routes.”
“Business travel demand continued to be solid, with strong sales in Hong Kong supporting traffic on a number of our Chinese Mainland, North America and United Kingdom routes.”
Outlook Looks Positive…
Looking ahead to 2024 and beyond, Lau said the following regarding Cathay Pacific and it’s outlook from Hong Kong:
“On the travel side, we achieved another milestone in our rebuilding journey as we reached 80% of our pre-pandemic passenger flights as a Group in the second quarter as planned.”
“We remain on track to reach 100% within the first quarter of 2025 as we continue to add more flights and destinations for our customers.”
“So far in 2024, Cathay Pacific has already added Chennai, Colombo and, as of this week, Barcelona to our global network, while HK Express has added Beijing (Daxing), Bangkok (Don Mueang), Sanya and Clark.”
“Our passenger airlines now fly to more than 80 destinations around the world.”
“This number will rise to 90 by next year as we continue to welcome even more destinations to our network, including Riyadh on 28 October 2024.”
“For cargo, we expect demand to remain strong as it has been throughout the first five months of 2024.”
“Market sentiment, particularly out of Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland, remains positive and we will continue to adjust our freighter capacity to suit the needs of our customers.”
“Furthermore, we are delighted to have recently relaunched our Cathay Expert solution after listening to the needs of our customers regarding handling project-related cargo.”
“This special solution is precisely tailored to provide customers with a fully customised handling for their odd-size, heavy or fragile cargo, and is the latest example of how we are enhancing our services as we strive to become the world’s best air cargo carrier.”
Overall…
Overall, this represents strong growth for Cathay Pacific out of Hong Kong.
Furthermore, the outlook shows that things continue to be positive.
Obviously, the COVID-19 pandemic created significant detriment to the airline.
Looking ahead, all eyes turn to what the rest of the year will hold for the airline.
As we enter further into the Summer 2024 season, it is expected that the airline will become busier.
From there, we should continue to see continued increases in passenger number traffic.
E-commerce is also a market that Cathay Pacific is thriving in out of Hong Kong.
But for now, all eyes are on the next few months ahead to restore themselves as a powerhouse of Asia.
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