The airline reported strong growth last month.
A Cathay Pacific 777 at the gate in Los Angeles. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)
Cathay Pacific Airways reported significant growth in passenger and cargo traffic for October 2024.
The airline carried 2,014,105 passengers during the month, marking a 19.6% increase compared to October 2023. Revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) rose 19.1% year-over-year, although the load factor went down to 83.1% due to a 21.3% rise in available seat kilometers (ASKs) as the airline expanded its network.
From January through October 2024, Cathay Pacific transported 18,567,818 passengers, a 27.4% jump from the same period last year. Both RPKs and ASKs also saw sharp increases, up 26.8% and 32.7%, respectively.
“October was another good month for our travel business, with strong demand for both leisure and business travel resulting in a solid load factor of 83% across our network,” said Lavinia Lau, chief customer and commercial officer, in a news release. “We saw considerable leisure traffic from Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland to destinations in Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia, and Europe over the National Day ‘Golden Week’ holiday at the beginning of the month.”
She added that the Chung Yeung Festival long weekend also boosted short-haul travel demand from Hong Kong, with Japan emerging as the most popular destination.
Cathay Pacific launched a new non-stop passenger service between Hong Kong and Riyadh in October, which Lau described as “well-received by customers.”
The airline’s cargo operations also delivered strong results, with the airline carrying 142,323 tons of freight in October, a 14.3% increase compared to the previous year. Cargo revenue tonne kilometers (RFTKs) climbed 9.8%, while the cargo load factor rose to 61.5%.
“The traditional cargo peak season continued in October, with tonnage 7% higher than the previous month and 14% above October last year,” Lau added. “Our cargo business performed well, driven by demand from Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland, and the Americas.”
Looking ahead, Cathay Pacific anticipates robust demand for the holiday travel season, with Japan expected to remain a top destination for Hong Kong travelers. The airline also projects strong inbound traffic from North America, the United Kingdom, and Europe.
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