Cathay Pacific carried 2,068,979 passengers in August 2024, marking a 15.9% increase compared to the same month in 2023. The airline’s revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) also rose by 15.9% year-on-year. Despite this growth, the passenger load factor decreased by 2.9 percentage points to 85.2%, as available seat kilometers (ASKs) surged by 19.8%.
In the first eight months of 2024, Cathay Pacific recorded a 29.9% increase in the number of passengers carried, reaching a total of 14,736,805 passengers. During this period, ASKs rose by 36.1%, while RPKs grew by 29.2%, reflecting a significant recovery in travel demand as compared to 2023.
The airline’s cargo sector also showed positive results, with 124,236 tonnes of cargo carried in August 2024, a 6.3% increase from August 2023. However, the cargo revenue tonne kilometers (RFTKs) slightly declined by 0.9%, and the cargo load factor fell by 1.7 percentage points to 57.1%. Available cargo tonne kilometers (AFTKs) rose by 2.1% year-on-year. Over the first eight months of the year, Cathay Pacific saw a 9.8% increase in cargo tonnage, totaling 970,498 tonnes, alongside an 8.8% rise in AFTKs and a 3.2% growth in RFTKs.
Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Lavinia Lau highlighted the robust travel demand throughout August, attributing the strong performance to the traditional summer travel peak. “We carried over two million passengers for the second consecutive month and set a new post-pandemic record on 10 August, transporting nearly 75,000 passengers in a single day,” Lau stated.
She noted that leisure travel demand from Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area remained high, with short-haul destinations being particularly popular. The airline also resumed flights to Ningbo, which were well-received by customers in the Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, and India.
On the cargo front, Lau emphasized stable demand, with a notable uptick towards the end of August. She expressed optimism for the traditional year-end peak season, with expectations of increased tonnage for high-tech and electronic goods from the Chinese Mainland, Southeast Asia, and India.
Cathay Pacific is also expanding its network, with new passenger flights to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, launching in late October, and additional services by its subsidiary HK Express to Hiroshima in November and Phu Quoc in December 2024. For cargo operations, five additional flights per week to North America will be introduced to meet rising demand.
The airline completed the buyback of all warrants issued to the Hong Kong SAR Government in 2020 as part of its recapitalization. The total consideration for the buyback was approximately HK$1.53 billion, bringing the total payment to the government, including preference share dividends, to nearly HK$4 billion.
This financial milestone and the airline’s robust performance in both passenger and cargo sectors underscore Cathay Pacific’s commitment to enhancing its network and solidifying Hong Kong’s position as a leading global aviation hub.