Cathay Pacific Group, comprising Cathay Pacific and HK Express, carried almost six million passengers during the first four months of the year. The Group released its traffic figures for April 2023 reflecting strong demand for travel during the holiday period.
Cathay Pacific carried a total of 1,381,073 passengers in April 2023 recording an increase of 3,283% compared with April 2022. The month’s revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) increased 3,139% year-on-year. Passenger load factor increased by 31.3 percentage points to 86.9%, while capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), increased by 1,973% year-on-year.
In the first four months of 2023, the number of passengers carried increased by 3,707% against a 2,116% increase in capacity and a 3,989% increase in RPKs, as compared with the same period for 2022.
The airline carried 109,372 tonnes of cargo last month, an increase of 18.4% compared with April 2022, when the cargo capacity was significantly reduced due to stricter aircrew quarantine measures.
Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Lavinia Lau said: “Passenger demand was especially strong over the Easter holiday in the early part of the month, and on 9 April, we recorded our highest number of passengers on a single day since the start of the pandemic, carrying 53,233 in total. We experienced a surge in demand from Indonesia in mid-April, coinciding with the end of Ramadan, and we added more flights from Jakarta and Surabaya for our customers accordingly. Towards the end of April, we also saw increased traffic ahead of Labour Day and the Golden Week holiday from the Chinese Mainland. “
Going ahead the airline is planning to increase its passenger flight capacity with the peak summer travel season. The airline will resume its Johannesburg service starting August 2023, with three return flights per week. The airline will also resume its Chicago service with three return flights per week, bringing the total number of destinations in North America to seven.