Cathay Pacific Airways saw traffic rise 2% year-on-year in November, driven by demand for economy class travel.
Total RPKs rose 2% and total passengers rose 1.5% to 2 million, says the Oneworld carrier. The figures include those of subsidiary Dragonair.
Capacity, as measured by ASKs, fell 5.9% year-on-year. The passenger load factor rose 6.3 percentage points to 82%.
"Our overall passenger numbers saw a year-on-year rise in November, mainly driven by demand in our economy cabins," says Cathay Pacific general manager revenue management Tom Owen.
More passengers and reduced capacity pushed up load factors, he says. The carrier saw a "modest rise" in demand for its premium cabins, but volumes and yields are still "well below" those before the economic crisis of late 2008.
Cargo and freight tonne kilometers rose 3.8%. Significant reductions in capacity boosted cargo load factors, with cargo demand to North America and Europe particularly strong, says the carrier's general manager for cargo sales and marketing Titus Diu.
"However, we remain cautious about the outlook for demand after the current seasonal peak," says Diu.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
