Cathay’s ‘very difficult’ October sees first traffic decline in months

Cathay Pacific cut capacity in October — the first time in nearly half a year — as it saw passenger load factor for the month plummet to its lowest since the start of the coronavirus outbreak. Releasing its traffic results for the month, Cathay blamed a resurgence in coronavirus cases in many parts of Europe for killing off travel demand to the UK and other parts of Continental Europe. That, coupled with a tapering off in demand for student travel in early October, made for a “very difficult” month for the embattled carrier. In October, Cathay Pacific and its now-shuttered regional unit Cathay Dragon, carried just over 38,500 passengers, nearly 99% lower year on year. It was also an 18% decline compared to September. Cathay adds that on average, it flew just over 1,200 passengers a day for the month. The two carriers operated only 8.4% of planned capacity in October, lower than September’s 9%. This was the first such capacity decline to be reported since May, when the carriers operated just 2.5% of planned capacity, down from April’s 2.7%. RPKs for the month tumbled 98% year on year, leading to passenger load factor to plunge to a record low of 18.2%, 59.3 percentage points lower year on year. Cathay notes that November continues to see sluggish demand. <br/>