Hong Kong Dragon Airlines, which celebrated its 25th anniversary yesterday, will add more flights to Wuhan and Kaohsiung in July as the recovery in air traffic demand for regional destinations continues.
Dragonair, 100 per cent owned by Cathay Pacific Airways, has come a long way since 1985, when it operated with only one aircraft. Today it connects the city with 29 destinations in the Asia-Pacific, including 17 on the mainland, with a fleet of 28 aircraft.
The carrier's passenger yield - an industry measure of sales per passenger per mile - has returned to the level of 2008, chief executive James Tong said. 'But it is still a bit lower than the pre-crisis level,' he said.
Growth in the leisure and business travel market has been in double digits in the first four months, against the same period in 2009. 'It has been boosted by the World Expo in Shanghai, with advance bookings for Shanghai growing around 40 per cent for the next two to three months,' Tong said.
Dragonair is awaiting the delivery of two Airbus 320s by August to cater for the additional services. It is also considering leasing more aircraft next year, depending on growth in the second half, Tong said.
The airline provides 400 weekly flights to and from the mainland and will upgrade its service to Wuhan to daily flights in July from four a week at present.