Asia's aviation industry shook off its Sars-induced hangover last year and Cathay Pacific Airways capitalised to carry a record number of passengers and freight across its expanded global network.
More than 13.6 million travellers flew on Cathay aircraft last year, almost 11 per cent more than the record of 12.3 million the airline set in 2002. It carried 1.27 million passengers during the peak of the holiday period last month, up 14.5 per cent on last year.
'Those are a very solid set of numbers to end the year on,' JP Morgan regional transport analyst Peter Negline said. 'The strength was evident in the cargo and passenger sectors. Things are definitely moving in the right direction for Cathay.'
Cathay moved more than 972,400 tonnes of cargo, up a comparative 11.2 per cent on last year's record.
'Cargo growth continued to be driven by demand for exports from southern China,' cargo general manager Ron Mathison said. 'Congestion in United States west coast seaports also helped to boost demand for air-cargo services. Business on our trunk routes from Hong Kong to the US, Europe and Japan remained strong throughout the year.'
On January 27, the carrier will return to the Shanghai market after 15 years with a daily freighter service in a move that may push volumes past the one-million-tonne mark next year. It will increase the service to 12 times weekly in March.
