Cathay Pacific sees growth in passenger numbers and cargo volume for September

Policy

Patricia Hwang Director People | Cathay Pacific

By Sky Industry News

Oct 22, 2024

Cathay Pacific has reported its traffic figures for September 2024, revealing significant growth in both passenger and cargo operations compared to the same period last year. The airline, along with HK Express, carried over 21 million passengers in the first nine months of 2024.

In September alone, Cathay Pacific transported 1,816,908 passengers, marking a 17.8% increase from September 2023. Revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) rose by 18.4%, while available seat kilometers (ASKs) increased by 21.7%. Despite these increases, the passenger load factor decreased by 2.3 percentage points to reach 81.4%.

The airline also experienced a rise in cargo operations, carrying 133,079 tonnes of cargo in September—a rise of 10.9% from the previous year. Cargo revenue tonne kilometers (RFTKs) grew by 4.9%, though the cargo load factor fell by 2.4 percentage points to stand at 58.7%.

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Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Lavinia Lau commented on various trends observed during this period: “Following the end of the busy peak summer months for leisure travel, September marked the shift to the outbound student travel peak." She noted high demand for flights from Hong Kong to the United Kingdom due to students traveling for their new school year.

Lau further remarked that "September also marked the start of the business travel peak season," with notable increases in demand driven by events such as Milan and Paris Fashion Weeks leading to record premium cabin load factors.

Regarding cargo operations, Lau stated: “Turning to cargo, demand strengthened in September as we moved into the traditional peak season.” She highlighted increased shipments via Cathay Fresh and Cathay Priority solutions across various regions.

Looking forward, Lau indicated plans for expanding flight offerings: “Looking ahead to the coming months, we will be adding more flights and destinations.” This includes new non-stop services between Hong Kong and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport starting April 2025.

Additionally, Cathay Pacific has introduced new cabin experiences on its retrofitted Boeing aircraft and is progressing towards reopening The Bridge lounge at Hong Kong International Airport next year.

Lau concluded with expectations of strong demand during upcoming traditional peak seasons: “For cargo, we expect demand to be robust during the traditional peak season.”