Cathay Pacific saw a 30% increase in passengers in August 2025 compared with the same month last year. Available Seat Kilometres (ASKs), which measure seat capacity across distances flown, rose by 32%. Over the first eight months of this year, passenger numbers were up by 28% compared with January-August 2024.
Lau noted: “We saw robust leisure demand throughout August, particularly from our home market and the Chinese Mainland to various short-haul destinations, alongside a surge in outbound student traffic towards the end of the month. In addition, sentiment for travel to Japan has improved over July but still falls short of last year.
“The beginning of the month saw the resumption of our four-times-weekly service to Brussels, which has been well received by our customers and achieved a load factor of over 85%. We were also delighted to welcome our members and customers back to our newly redesigned flagship lounge at Beijing Capital International Airport, providing them with an elevated experience before their flights. Looking ahead, with September typically being a quieter period, we expect demand to rebound as we approach the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holidays.”
Cathay Cargo reported carrying 13% more cargo than in August last year. Available Freight Tonne Kilometres (AFTKs), representing freight capacity across distances flown, increased by 15%. For January through August this year cargo tonnage rose by 11%.
Lau stated: “We continued to see healthy year-on-year tonnage growth in August. Demand for capacity into the Americas remains robust, and our Cathay Dangerous Goods solution has also seen considerable growth, particularly from lithium batteries movements to Oceania. Turning to September, we expect momentum to continue as the traditional air cargo peak begins, spurred by new high-tech product launches. To meet rising demand, we will be introducing additional freighter schedules, including a new weekly service to Madrid from 13 October 2025.”
HK Express increased its passenger numbers by 36% and its ASKs by 41% compared with August last year. The airline's cumulative passenger numbers for January-August were up by about one-third compared with last year.
Lau commented: “While HK Express saw some pickup in demand on its Japan routes in August, the load factor of these routes across the summer peak – July and August 2025 combined – was more than 20 percentage points lower than the same period in 2024, as the market demand to Japan has not fully rebounded to be in line with capacity. Looking at September, HK Express will continue to offer attractive fares to stimulate demand as it enters the low season.”
The company’s full set of figures includes data on available seat kilometres (ASKs), revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs), number of flight sectors operated for both passengers and cargo operations as well as load factors—a ratio indicating how much capacity is filled—for both passengers and freight.
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