Cathay Pacific releases December 2024 traffic report

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Cathay Pacific released its traffic figures for December 2024 on Tuesday, 20th January. 

In the full year of 2024, the Cathay Group achieved new post-pandemic highs for total passengers and cargo carried. Cathay Pacific and HK Express carried a combined total of more than 28 million passengers, marking an increase of 30.7 percent year on year. 

Meanwhile, Cathay Cargo carried a total of 1.5 million tonnes of cargo in 2024, which was 11% higher than the whole of 2023.

Passenger update for December 2024

Cathay Pacific carried a total of 2,248,950 passengers in December 2024, an increase of 26.4 percent compared with December 2023. 

The month’s revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) increased 27.9 percent year on year. 

Passenger load factor increased by 3.6 percentage points to 84.8 percent, while available seat kilometres (ASKs) increased by 22.5 percent year on year.

According to chief customer and commercial officer Lavinia Lau: “December is the traditional peak season for our travel business as customers visit friends and relatives, and travel for leisure over the Christmas and New Year holidays. In 2024, we achieved a significant milestone during the year-end travel peak with Cathay Pacific and HK Express together carrying more than 100,000 passengers in a single day, the most since the start of our rebuild, in a total of eight days.”

Lau added that the airline’s premium cabins experienced high demand leading up to the holiday season, reflecting a surge in business-related travel before the end of the year. ​ 

December also saw the resumption of Cathay Pacific’s seasonal service to Cairns, which operates three flights per week and has been well received by customers.

Lau said: “Overall in 2024, we continued to leverage our global network and the strategic advantages of the Hong Kong hub to attract more transit passengers, in particular those travelling between the Chinese Mainland and cities around the world.”

Cargo figures for December 2024

The airline carried 143,564 tonnes of cargo in December 2024, an increase of 11.7 percent compared with December 2023. 

The month’s cargo revenue tonne kilometres (RFTKs) increased 6.5 percent year on year. 

Likewise, the cargo load factor increased by 0.6 percentage points to 61.4 percent, while available cargo tonne kilometres (AFTKs) increased by 5.5 percent year on year.

Lau offered an explanation for this: “Demand for e-commerce shipments from Hong Kong and the rest of the Greater Bay Area remained robust during the year-end festive season. We also saw significant demand for perishables and seasonal produce from the South West Pacific and the Americas to Hong Kong and other parts of Asia.”

An increase in tonnage for the Cathay Expert solution was also observed, arising from the movement of machinery and engines, particularly from North Asia.

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