Cathay pax numbers down 9.9% in Jul-2009, no "material yield recovery"

Cathay Pacific passenger numbers down 9.9% - consolidated traffic highlights in Jul-2009:

• Passenger numbers: 2.1 million, -9.9% year-on-year;
• Passenger traffic (RPKs): -8.2%;
  • China: -9.3%;
  • Northeast Asia: -14.6%;
  • Southeast Asia & Middle East: -0.1%;
  • Europe: +4.0%;
  • Southwest Pacific & South Africa: stable;
  • North America: -21.9%;
• Passenger load factor: 83.5%, -0.6 ppt;
• Cargo volume: 133,233 tonnes, -6.7%.

Cathay Pacific: "The adverse impact of Influenza A (H1N1) on regional demand continued in July, although there was a pickup in leisure travel towards the end of the month as concerns eased in some markets. Load factors remained flat over last year, despite significantly reduced capacity, highlighting the continued impact of the global economic downturn on demand. Bookings in the premium cabins remained especially weak which, combined with ongoing aggressive economy class competition and adverse currency movements, continued to stymie any material yield recovery," Tom Owen, General Manager Revenue Management. Source: Cathay Pacific, 11-Aug-2009.

Cathay Pacific: "Our tonnage decline has seen successive reductions since the beginning of the year, and July's drop of 6.7% was the smallest year-on-year monthly drop so far in 2009. The indications now are that the massive slide in the air cargo market has bottomed out and we were encouraged to see an increase in demand out of our home market, Hong Kong. However, intense competition is still putting yield under considerable pressure," Titus Diu, General Manager Cargo Sales & Marketing. Source: Cathay Pacific, 11-Aug-2009.