Newly resumed flights helped increase Cathay Pacific’s travelers by 603%

It carried a total of 1,784,980 passengers in August 2023.

The total number of passengers carried by Cathay Pacific grew to 1,784,980, a 603% year-on-year (YoY) increase in August 2023.

In a statement, the airline said its month’s revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) increased 342.8% YoY. 
Passenger load factor grew by 19.4 percentage points to 88%, whilst capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), soared by 244.9% YoY. 

In the first eight months of 2023, the number of passengers carried increased by 1,302% against a 633.1% increase in capacity and an 876.7% increase in RPKs, as compared with the same period for 2022.

On cargo, it carried 116,919 tonnes of cargo last month, an increase of 11.5% compared with August 2022. Cargo revenue tonne kilometres (RFTKs) increased 13.2% YoY in August 2023. 

Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Lavinia Lau said they found high demand for leisure travel from Hong Kong and the rest of the Greater Bay Area to various short-haul destinations.

Lau said they also recorded newly resumed flights for Johannesburg, which received a very positive response, in particular amongst business and leisure travellers flying to Hong Kong and beyond.

Lau sees continued demand from students who travel to the UK, especially in September. She said they also plan to add more flight services in other locations such as Colombo and Chennai services, which will resume in February next year.

On cargo services, September will mark the start of the traditional peak period, where they will see the demand pick up and businesses plan for consumer sales events such as Singles Day in China and Black Friday in markets.