Cathay Pacific Airways has released combined Cathay Pacific and Dragonair traffic figures for June 2008 that show continued growth in the number of passengers carried by the two airlines along with a rise in cargo tonnage over the same month last year.In June the two airlines carried a total of 2,123,462 passengers - an increase of 12.7% over the same month in 2007. The month’s load factor was up 0.3 percentage points to 81.3%, while June’s capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs) increased by 16% on the previous year. For the year to date, the number of passengers carried has risen by 13.7% compared to a capacity rise of 14.3%.

Between them, Cathay Pacific and Dragonair carried 137,680 tonnes of cargo and mail last month, up 4.0% on June 2007. Capacity for the month, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, grew by 2.2% while the cargo and mail load factor edged up by 0.5 percentage points to 67.5%. Both cargo tonnage and capacity for the year to date have risen by 6.9%.

Cathay Pacific General Manager Revenue Management, Sales & Distribution Ian Shiu said: “Passenger demand was strong throughout June in the build-up to the summer peak. We have added a lot of capacity since last year, particular to India, Australia and North America, so for passenger growth to fall only marginally behind capacity growth is a creditable performance. Advance bookings for the summer are quite healthy, but we must strike a note of caution in view of ever-increasing fuel prices and the prevailing international economic sentiment.”

Cathay Pacific General Manager Cargo Sales & Marketing Titus Diu said: “Demand remained fairly robust in most markets in June with the exception of Northeast Asia, and we were pleased to see cargo and mail tonnage growth stay ahead of capacity growth. Our cargo business has been given a boost by the launch of passenger services to Chennai and Bengaluru, but the continued rise in jet fuel costs is having a serious impact on our bottom line.”
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