Cathay Pacific revealed its traffic figures report for October 2024 on Thursday, 21st November.

This latest report shows how the airline reached the milestone of operating more than 10,000 passenger and cargo flight sectors in a single month for the first time this year. 

Cathay Pacific carried a total of 2,014,105 passengers in October, marking an increase of 19.6 percent compared with October 2023. 

The month’s revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) increased 19.1 percent year on year while its passenger load factor decreased by 1.6 percentage points to 83.1 percent, and  available seat kilometres (ASKs) increased by 21.3 percent year on year. 

In the first 10 months of 2024, the number of passengers carried increased by 27.4 percent to a total of 18,567,818, against a 32.7 percent  increase in ASKs and a 26.8 percent increase in RPKs, as compared with the same period for 2023. 

With regard to cargo operations, the airline carried 142,323 tonnes of cargo throughout last month, an increase of 14.3 percent compared  with October 2023. The month’s cargo revenue tonne kilometres (RFTKs) increased 9.8 percent year on year. 

The cargo load factor increased by 0.8 percentage points to 61.5 percent, while available cargo tonne kilometres (AFTKs) increased by 8.4 percent year on year. 

In the first 10 months of 2024, the tonnage increased by 10.4 percent to a total of 1,245,899 tonnes, against an 8.8 percent increase in AFTKs and a 4.1 percent increase in RFTKs, as compared with the same period for 2023. 

Outlook for the coming months

Cathay’s chief customer and commercial officer Lavinia Lau is optimistic about the airline’s performance as the year draws to a close.

According to Lau: “We are projecting a strong Christmas travel peak, with Japan anticipated to be a top destination for outbound travel from our home market. We are also expecting  considerable inbound demand from North America, the United Kingdom and other destinations  in Europe as customers travel to visit friends and relatives.” 

With regard to new destinations, Cathay Pacific’s seasonal service of three flights per week  between Hong Kong and Cairns is slated to launch on 17 December 2024. 

Lau added: “We also announced the resumption of Cathay Pacific’s non-stop passenger services to and from Hyderabad  starting from 30 March 2025, further enhancing our network presence in India. Additionally, HK  Express launched thrice-weekly passenger flights between Hong Kong and Hiroshima at the  start of November, increasing to four return flights per week in January 2025.”  

In terms of cargo, the robust demand seen by the airline of late is expected to continue throughout the rest of the peak season, driven by e-commerce, high-tech and electronic goods from the  Chinese Mainland, Southeast Asia, as well as perishables from South West Pacific and the  Americas.