Cathay Pacific's traffic given boost by weakening yen

The weak Japanese yen underpinned double digit growth in passenger traffic to Japan, Cathay Pacific Airways said on Wednesday, adding that it would increase non-scheduled flights to meet the rise in demand.

The year-on-year traffic growth to Japan came from the Hong Kong market and from transiting passengers from Southeast Asia, Ivan Chu Kwok-leung, Cathay’s chief operating officer said on the sidelines of the company’s annual shareholder meeting.

However, traffic from China to Japan was still under pressure as a result of Sino-Japanese tensions over disputed islands in the East China Sea, Chu said.

Chu said the airline had seen an uptick on traffic long-haul destinations, especially on the routes to the United States and Canada, where it rose by two per cent year-on-year.

“We are restoring flights to Los Angeles and New York, to the extent that traffic has returned to the level before we cut long-haul capacity last year,” he said.

From July, the carrier will operate 21 flights a week to Los Angeles, up from 17 flights a week, and will boost its New York service to 28 flights a week, from 25 at present, he said. Additionally, Cathay will add a fifth daily flight to London from June 25.