Cathay Pacific points to ‘robust’ summer travel peak

Cathay Pacific expects a “robust” summer travel peak as a new record was set last month.

Cathay Pacific and sister carrier HK Express together carried about 92,000 passengers combined, the highest daily number since the pandemic, on June 30.

The two airlines carried a total 13.5 million passengers in the first six months of the year.

More: Cathay Pacific faces delayed return to full pre-Covid capacity

Cathay Pacific projects strong Hong Kong business travel demand

Cathay Pacific flew more than 1.8 million passengers in June, an increase of 18.7% compared with the same month last year.

The number of passengers carried rose by 36.4% in the first half of 2024 to a total of 10.7 million, against a 42.7% increase in capacity.

Chief customer and commercial officer Lavinia Lau said: “Following a slightly quieter month in May, travel sentiment rebounded in June with leisure travel on both long-haul and short-haul routes performing well. 

“Demand for long-haul travel was driven by the peak season for returning student traffic, and load factors for the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Europe were each close to 90%. 

“The outlook for the summer travel peak remains robust across our network. 

“Looking ahead, we will continue to introduce new destinations for our customers to explore.” 

She pointed to a new three-times-a-week seasonal service between Hong Kong and Cairns in Australia between December and March next year.

“As a group, we have already announced 10 new destinations so far this year, seven of which have commenced services,” she added.