OREANDA-NEWS.  September 26, 2012. Cathay Pacific Airways released combined Cathay Pacific and Dragonair traffic figures for August 2012 that show an increase in the number of passengers carried alongside a drop in the passenger load factor. The amount of cargo and mail carried showed another year-on-year decline, reported the press-centre of Cathay Pacific.

Cathay Pacific and Dragonair carried a total of 2,610,150 passengers in August – up 4.0% on the same month in 2011 – while the passenger load factor dropped by 1.1 percentage points to 83.1%. Capacity for the month, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), rose by 3.0%. For the year to date, passenger numbers have risen by 6.7% compared to a capacity increase of 5.8%.

The two airlines carried 122,351 tonnes of cargo and mail last month, a drop of 6.9% compared to August 2011. The cargo and mail load factor was down by 3.0 percentage points to 61.9%. Capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, decreased by 6.1%, while cargo and mail tonne kilometres flown dropped by 10.4%. For the year to date, tonnage has declined by 9.6% against a capacity drop of 5.5%.

Cathay Pacific General Manager Revenue Management James Tong said: “While the overall load factor on the passenger side was above 80%, it dropped below last year’s level in both months of the summer peak. A number of typhoons in the region impacted on our business in August, while the Olympics dampened demand to London. We also operated fewer extra sectors over the summer than in 2011. Yield remained under pressure in all cabins.”

Cathay Pacific General Manager Cargo Sales & Marketing James Woodrow said: “Demand in the cargo markets is traditionally weak in August and this year was no exception. We saw a decline in tonnage compared to the same month in 2011, when demand had already seen a significant falloff, and our load factor was down despite the reduction in capacity. We expect to see some increase in demand from mid-September onwards, driven by the shipment of hi-tech products from the key manufacturing centres in Mainland China.”