Cathay Pacific carried a total of 801,088 passengers in December 2022, reporting an increase of 768.7% compared with December 2021, but a 73.3% decrease compared with the pre-pandemic level in December 2019. The airline released its traffic figures for December 2022. The figures have shown a marked improvement over the first half results.
The December 2022 revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) increased 545.2% year-on-year, but were down 68.4% versus December 2019.
In the full year of 2022, the number of passengers carried increased by 291% against a 51.6% increase in capacity and a 258.3% increase in RPKs, as compared with 2021.
Ronald Lam, Chief Executive Officer, Cathay Pacific, said: “December saw a drastic uptick in travel demand with Christmas being the first major holiday since travel restrictions in Hong Kong were lifted, although we were still only operating about 32% of pre-pandemic passenger flight capacity levels. We carried over 25,800 passengers per day on average.”
The airline carried 106,471 tonnes of cargo last month, a decrease of 21% compared with December 2021, and a 40% decrease compared with the same period in 2019.
Meanwhile, Cathay Pacific expects to record a consolidated loss attributable to shareholders of approximately HK$6.4-7.0 billion as per the preliminary review of the unaudited consolidated management accounts.
Commenting on the financial performance Lam said: “I am very encouraged to see a trend of continuous improvement in our operations and financial performance for our airlines and subsidiaries in the second half of 2022. Progressive relaxations to travel restrictions and quarantine requirements in Hong Kong enabled us to be operating cash generative overall in the second half of 2022.”
Cathay Pacific added more destinations in December including Sapporo, Fukuoka, Penang and Dhaka, ending the year with 60 destinations, almost double than the 29 destinations the Group covered in January 2022. Going ahead, the Group anticipates restoring connectivity and capacity at the Hong Kong international airport with operating capacity of 70% towards the end of 2023 and an aim of returning to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2024.