Cathay-Dragonair cargo up 13.1pc to 149,009 tonnes in August

HONG KONG's Cathay Pacific and Dragonair combined cargo and mail volume increased 13.1 per cent to 149,009 tonnes in August year on year with a load factor of 72.7 per cent load factor as available cargo tonne kilometre capacity rose 24.5 per cent.

"Our cargo traffic in August was not as strong as the previous month in terms of volume, and our tonnage growth was some way behind capacity growth. However, business was still solid for what is traditionally a quiet month for air freight, and yields in the market remained buoyant," said cargo chief James Woodrow.

"We are now preparing for an expected pick-up in the last quarter by strengthening some of our scheduled freighter frequencies on transpacific and European routes," said Mr Woodrow.

The two airlines carried 2,423,444 passengers in August - up 9.7 per cent year on year, said a Cathay statement. The passenger load factor was 84.4 per cent, a rise of 0.3 percentage points, while capacity for the month, measured in available seat kilometres, was up by 7.1 per cent. Year to date, the number of passengers carried is up 10.1 per cent.

Said revenue chief Tom Owen: "Traffic in our Economy cabins remained strong throughout August, with very robust demand out of our home market - particularly on long-haul routes and to holiday destinations in southeast and northeast Asia. The China market again was solid, both on our trunk routes to Beijing and Shanghai as well as to secondary cities, with a good performance in the premium cabins. Overall, though, our premium revenue and volumes remained below pre-downturn levels and we wait to see the extent of the pick-up in the traditional peak season for business travel in the last quarter."
(Source:www.schednet.com)