Cathay Pacific releases combined traffic figures for October 2020 showing a drop of 98.6%

Just 38,541 passengers flew with Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon in October.

The Cathay Pacific Group has released its combined traffic figures for October 2020 that continued to reflect the airlines’ substantial capacity reductions in response to significantly reduced demand as well as travel restrictions and quarantine requirements in place in Hong Kong and other markets amid the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic.

Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon (which ceased operation on 21 October 2020) carried a total of 38,541 passengers last month, a decrease of 98.6% compared to October 2019. The month’s revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) fell 98% year-on-year. Passenger load factor dropped by 59.3 percentage points to 18.2%, while capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), decreased by 91.6%. In the first 10 months of 2020, the number of passengers carried dropped by 84.6% against a 76.5% decrease in capacity and an 82.6% decrease in RPKs, as compared to the same period for 2019.

Cathay Pacific Group announces corporate restructuring that will see more than 5900 jobs lost

  

The Hong Kong based Cathay Pacific Group has released details of corporate restructuring as the airline group struggles to cope with the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the aviation market.  

Part of the major changes will see approximately 8,500 jobs being axed - around 24% of its established headcount. Through a recruitment freeze and natural attrition, the Group has been able to reduce this to 5,900 actual jobs (or 17% of its established headcount).

The restructuring will enable the Company to secure its future, so it can protect as many jobs as possible, whilst meeting its responsibilities to the Hong Kong aviation hub and its customers.

The Group will create a more focused, efficient and competitive business. It will do this by harnessing Cathay Pacific’s strengths and unparalleled customer experience while leveraging the potential of its low-cost carrier, HK Express.

Cathay Pacific Group Releases Combined Traffic Figures for September 2020

The Cathay Pacific Group has released its combined traffic figures for September 2020 that continued to reflect the airlines’ substantial capacity reductions in response to significantly reduced demand as well as travel restrictions and quarantine requirements in place in Hong Kong and other markets amid the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic.

Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon carried a total of 47,061 passengers last month, a decrease of 98.1% compared to September 2019. The month’s revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) fell 97% year-on-year. Passenger load factor dropped by 48.8 percentage points to 24.9%, while capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), decreased by 91%. In the first nine months of 2020, the number of passengers carried dropped by 83.2% against a 74.8% decrease in capacity and an 81% decrease in RPKs, as compared to the same period for 2019.

Cathay Pacific Group Releases Combined Traffic Figures for August 2020

Cathay Pacific Group Releases Combined Traffic Figures for August 2020

The Cathay Pacific Group has released its combined traffic figures for August 2020 that reflected the airlines’ continued substantial capacity reductions in response to significantly reduced demand as well as travel restrictions and quarantine requirements in place in Hong Kong and other markets amid the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon carried a total of 35,773 passengers last month, a decrease of 98.8% compared to August 2019. The month’s revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) fell 98.1% year-on-year. Passenger load factor dropped by 60 percentage points to 19.9%, while capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), decreased by 92.2%. In the first eight months of 2020, the number of passengers carried dropped by 81.7% against a 72.8% decrease in capacity and a 79.2% decrease in RPKs, as compared to the same period for 2019.

 

Five Cathay Dragon passengers test positive for coronavirus COVID-19 - the airline will suspend Kuala Lumpur - Hong Kong service.

Five passengers on a Cathay Dragon flight between Kuala Lumpur and the airlines home base of Hong Kong have tested positive for coronavirus COVID-19, according to local health authority officials.

It is understood that all five passengers had travelled on flight KA734 on September 18th after connecting from an Air India Express flight, arriving from India.

The Civil Aviation Department (CAD) has prohibited Cathay Dragon passenger flights from Kuala Lumpur from landing at Hong Kong International Airport for two weeks between 20 September to 3 October.

The airline issued the following statement:  

Cathay Pacific Group and GE Aviation Expand Digital Partnership

Flight Analytics and FlightPulse agreement: Unlocking the full potential of flight data to help analysts, management and flight crews better understand operations and drive efficiency improvements.

GE Aviation and Cathay Pacific Group have signed a five-year agreement to implement GE’s Event Measurement System (EMS) for flight analytics and the FlightPulse® pilot app. The digital technologies will be deployed across various fleet types in Cathay Pacific Group in September as well as the pilot community later in 2020. The agreement includes Cathay Pacific, Cathay Dragon and Air Hong Kong.

“Cathay Pacific has established our own efficiency best practices for years,” said Capt Mark Hoey, GM Operations with Cathay Pacific. “It is vital to have a flight analytics system that can easily adapt to our policies and procedures instead of the other way around. The good connectivity of the GE EMS system reduces the system migration effort, enables interaction with our corporate BI tool and maintains continuity to our users. The system flexibility and extensive library of measurements, parameters and events reduce the efforts in measuring and monitoring new best practices. After a substantial trial period with EMS, we concluded that it was the best fit for our requirements.”

Hong Kong based carrier Cathay Pacific expecting losses of $1.3 billion

The Hong Kong based Cathay Pacific Airways is expecting massive losses for the first half of the year, the carrier warned on Friday.

Estimates of HK$9.9 billion  / US$1.3 billion losses are reported by the airline as it battles the downturn in business caused by both the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic and the democracy upheaval and protests in Hong Kong.

The HK$9.9 billion loss is a striking contrast to the net profit of HK$1.3 billion for the same period in 2019. This includes impairment charges amounting to approximately HK$2.4 billion, which mainly relate to 16 aircraft that are unlikely to re-enter meaningful economic service again before the 2021 summer season together with certain airline service subsidiaries assets.

Cathay Pacific Group Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Ronald Lam said: “The landscape of international aviation remains incredibly uncertain with border restrictions and quarantine measures still in place across the globe. Although we have begun to see some initial developments, notably a slight increase in the number of transit passengers following the easing of transit restrictions through Hong Kong International Airport, we are still yet to see any significant signs of immediate improvement.”

Cathay Pacific Group Releases Combined Traffic Figures for April 2020

Last week, The Cathay Pacific Group released combined Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon traffic figures for April 2020 that reflected the airlines’ substantial 97% capacity reductions in response to significantly reduced demand as well as travel restrictions and quarantine requirements in place in Hong Kong and other markets amid the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic.

Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon carried a total of 13,729 passengers last month, a decrease of 99.6% compared to April 2019. The month’s revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) fell 99.3% year-on-year. Passenger load factor plummeted by 62.3 percentage points to 21.7%, while capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), decreased by 97.3%. In the first four months of 2020, the number of passengers carried dropped by 64.4% against a 49.9% decrease in capacity and a 59.1% decrease in RPKs, as compared to the same period for 2019.

The two airlines carried 84,634 tonnes of cargo and mail last month, a decrease of 48.3% compared to April 2019. The month’s revenue freight tonne kilometres (RFTKs) fell 37.3% year-on-year. The cargo and mail load factor increased by 7.6 percentage points to 70.1%, while capacity, measured in available freight tonne kilometres (AFTKs), was down by 44.1%. In the first four months of 2020, the tonnage fell by 26.6% against a 25.4% drop in capacity and a 20.6% decrease in RFTKs, as compared to the same period for 2019.

Cathay to operate less than 5% of its normal scheduled flights in April and May.

The Hong Kong based Cathay Pacific and sister airline Cathay Dragon have confirmed that passenger capacity will be cut by approximately 95%  during April and May this year as the continued threat from coronavirus COVID-19 continues to expand.


The drastic cut in flights is due to the growing number to travel and entry restrictions introduced by many countries and the decimating of demand as people around the world heed governments advice and self-isolate.

Only key passenger routes would still be flown, whilst the airline's cargo operations would continue to operate at its normal rate. Cathay Pacific chief customer and commercial officer, Ronald Lam commented "As Hong Kong’s home airlines, it is important that we continue to provide important passenger and cargo connections to and from the Hong Kong hub. We will therefore endeavour to maintain a minimal number of flights to and from key destinations in our network to ensure these vital arteries remain open. Our ability to maintain even this skeleton schedule will depend on whether more travel restrictions are imposed by governments around the world which will further dampen passenger demand."

Lam also indicated the airline would try to increase the freight schedule. "While our freighter network remains intact, we are also ramping up our cargo capacity by mounting charter services and operating certain suspended passenger services purely for airfreight to meet cargo customer demand.- We need to take difficult but decisive measures as the scale of the challenge facing the global aviation industry is unprecedented."

Earlier in March, the airline released its figures for 2019 -

American Airlines and Cathay Dragon start codeshare deal

American Airlines has launched a codeshare agreement with Cathay Dragon, adding service to four new destinations and increased service to three existing markets in Southeast Asia.

American will place its code on select Cathay Dragon flights from Hong Kong International Airport (HKG), providing American’s customers seamless connecting service to seven cities beyond Hong Kong. The new codeshare flights are available for sale now for travel beginning July 11.

Cathay Pacific Group Releases Combined Traffic Figures For November 2018

The Hong Kong based Cathay Pacific Group released combined Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon traffic figures for November 2018 today, that show an increase in the number of passengers carried and a slight drop in cargo and mail uplifted compared to the same month in 2017.

Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon carried a total of 2,883,056 passengers last month, an increase of 1.4% compared to November 2017. The passenger load factor decreased 0.3 percentage points to 83.3%, while capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), increased by 4.5%. In the first eleven months of 2018, the number of passengers carried grew by 1.9% while capacity increased by 3.3%.

The two airlines carried 185,135 tonnes of cargo and mail last month, an decrease of 1.3% compared to the same month last year. The cargo and mail load factor fell by 1.5 percentage points to 70.1%. Capacity, measured in available freight tonne kilometres (AFTKs), was increased by 0.9% while cargo and mail revenue freight tonne kilometres (RFTKs) decreased by 1.1%. In the first eleven months of 2018, the tonnage rose by 5.7% against a 2.9% increase in capacity and a 5.3% increase in RFTKs.

Cathay Pacific to start new Japanese route...................Komatsu coming soon

Cathay Pacific says that 3rd Aril 2019 will be the date to say "konnichiwa" to Komatsu when the company starts its new route to Japan.

The route is scheduled to operate on a seasonal basis running from 3rd April 2019 until 26th October and is scheduled to fly twice each week on Airbus A330 Cathay Dragon aircraft. The flights will operate on Wednesdays and Saturdays with a proposed departure time of 0945 from Hong Kong, landing in Komatsu at 1455. The return sector has a departure timed to leave at 1630 and land back in Hong Kong at 2000.

Komatsu, in Japan's Ishikawa Prefecture, is considered to be ideal gateway to the historic Hokuriku region and the perfect entry point for those wishing to explore the historic attractions, the mountainous landscapes, the wild coastlines. The area is rapidly growing in popularity from both regional and international tourists, with many hot-spots that border the Sea of Japan.

If good things come in threes, then travelling to Japan's historic Hokuriku region, along the country's central west coast, should exceed all expectations. From the country's third holiest mountain, Mount Haku, to historic Kanazawa's pristinely kept Kenrokuen gardens, considered one of Japan's three most beautiful, you'll uncover a wealth of heritage and scenic splendours across the region's three attractive prefectures – Ishikawa, Toyama, and Fukui.

Cathay Pacific reports lower passenger numbers in Septembr due to weather disruptions

Last week the Hong Kong based Cathay Pacific Group released traffic figures for September 2018 for Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon which demonstrated how typhoons had a negative effect on passenger numbers for the month.

Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon carried a total of 2,612,643 passengers last month, a decrease of 1.0% compared to September 2017. The passenger load factor decreased 0.2 percentage points to 80.8%, while capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), increased by 0.7%. In the first nine months of 2018, the number of passenger carried grew by 2.0% while capacity increased by 3.1%.

Cathay Pacific offer special discount for Hong Kong and Macau seniors

Cathay Pacific are offing a special discount for special people from today, which will run until 30th November 2018 designed to make travel cheaper for seniors. Yes, from today, Hong Kong and Macau residents aged 65 and over will enjoy a 25% discount on all flights departing between 1 November 2018 to 31 March 2019. The discount applies to Business, Premium Economy and Economy Class tickets to selected Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon’s destinations worldwide.

25% off flights for Hong Kong and Macau residents aged 65 and over until 31 March 2019

As Hong Kong’s home airlines, we understand the importance of spending quality time with family and loved ones. Therefore, the promotion not only celebrates the contribution that our elder residents have made to our home, it will also apply to up to three accompanying adults who can enjoy a 10% discount when they travel with a senior citizen.

(Photo Cathay Pacific)

Cathay Pacific group releases combined traffic figures for August 2018

The Hong Kong based Cathay Pacific released combined Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon traffic figures for August 2018 a little earlier this week, which showed an increase in both the number of passengers carried and cargo and mail transported compared to the same month in 2017.

In total Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon carried 3,278,481 passengers last month, which is an increase of 6.4% compared to August 2017.  Passenger load factor was 87.1% during the month, capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), increased by 4.9%. In the first eight months of 2018, the number of passengers grew by 2.4% while capacity increased by 3.3%.

The two airlines carried 187,644 tonnes of cargo and mail last month, an increase of 8.9% compared to the same month last year. The cargo and mail load factor rose by 2.9 percentage points to 68.4%. Capacity, measured in available freight tonne kilometres (AFTKs), was increased by 2.8% while cargo and mail revenue freight tonne kilometres (RFTKs) increased by 7.4%. In the first eight months of 2018, the tonnage rose by 7.1% against a 3.3% increase in capacity and a 6.6% increase in RFTKs.

Finnair and the Dragon roar.....

The delightful European carrier Finnair and the Hong Kong based sister airline of Cathay Pacific Airlines, Cathay Dragon, have signed a new codeshare cooperation agreement on the routes operated by Cathay Dragon, between Hong Kong and selected destinations in Asia. This new codeshare deal adds four new destinations to Finnair’s growing network in Asia.

Thanks to the new agreement, Finnair passengers will be able to connect with Cathay Dragon’s flights from Hong Kong to

Hanoi and Danang, Vietnam   

Yangon, Myanmar

Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, Cambodia     

These new codeshare-flights can be booked from today, 5th of June and the codeshare flights start on 15th June.

In addition, subject to regulatory approval, from 11th of July Finnair customers can connect from Hong Kong to Kuala Lumpur. Flights to Kuala Lumpur can be booked from 28th of June onwards.

“We warmly welcome this cooperation with Cathay Dragon and are delighted to offer our customers yet more destinations and smooth connections in Asia. Currently, Finnair offers ten weekly round trips from Helsinki to Hong Kong and adds a new frequency during this winter season,” says Philip Lewin, Head of Alliances and Partnerships at Finnair.