Cathay expects demand boost following traffic improvement in July

Cathay Pacific has reported “improvements” in passenger travel demand in July — despite seeing a slight dip in capacity for the month — as it anticipates a further boost to demand in August and September. The Hong Kong-based carrier, which recently narrowed its half-yearly losses, also maintained its forecast of operating at 30% pre-pandemic capacity by the end of the year. In July, Cathay flew just over 54,000 passengers, about 26% higher year on year, but still a dismal 98% decline compared to the same month in pre-pandemic 2019. The carrier flew an average of 1,745 passengers a day in July, higher than the 1,355 passengers it carried in June. Cathay’s chief customer and commercial officer Ronald Lam adds that on 29 July, the carrier flew more than 2,500 passengers — the most number in a day this year. RPKs for the month rose nearly 23% year on year, but was down 98% compared to pre-pandemic levels. As for capacity, Cathay reported a 0.7% year-on-year uptick, but a 93% plunge compared to 2019. Lam adds that capacity was down 3% compared to June figures. Passenger load factor — at 28.5% in July — is the highest so far in 12 months, representing a 5.1 percentage point increase year on year. Lam attributes the improvement in traffic to “robust” transit traffic from Mainland China to the US and Canada. <br/>