HONG KONG, 27 June 2023: Cathay Pacific rebuilds flight connectivity at the Hong Kong international aviation hub, reflected in positive traffic figures recorded in May.
The airline released details of its traffic figures for May 2023 at the weekend, which recorded 1,417,906 passengers last month, an increase of 2,345% compared with May 2022.
The month’s revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) increased by 1,664% year on year. Passenger load factor increased by 24.7 percentage points to 85.1%, while capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), increased by 1,152% year on year. In the first five months of 2023, the number of passengers carried increased by 3,281% against a 1,786% increase in capacity and a 3,062% increase in RPKs, compared with the same period for 2022.
The airline carried 109,834 tonnes of cargo last month, an increase of 18.8% compared with May 2022, when cargo capacity was significantly reduced due to stricter aircrew quarantine measures. The month’s cargo revenue tonne kilometres (RFTKs) increased 73.4% yearly. The cargo load factor decreased by 14.2 percentage points to 61.5%, while capacity, measured in available cargo tonne kilometres (AFTKs), increased by 113.6% yearly. In the first five months of 2023, the tonnage rose by 28.2% against a 154.6% increase in capacity and a 107.2% increase in RFTKs, compared to the same period for 2022.
Travel
Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Lavinia Lau said: “May was another good month for our travel business. We continued progressively increasing our passenger flight capacity to popular destinations in the US, South Asia and Japan.
“Although demand reduced temporarily following the Easter holiday peak, it picked up again over the Lord Buddha’s Birthday holiday weekend towards the end of May, with travel to Japan and Thailand, particularly popular. Transit traffic via the Hong Kong hub was also encouraging, with considerable demand to and from the Chinese Mainland.”
Outlook
The airline forecasts a positive outcome in traffic figures during the summer, driven by a boost in students returning to Hong Kong after the school term ends.
“On rebuilding our network, we will bring back the seasonal Christchurch service from 16 December 2023 to 29 February 2024 with three return flights per week, following the earlier announcement of service resumption to Johannesburg and Chicago from August and October 2023, respectively,” said Lau.
