PASSENGER AND CARGO REVENUE RECORDS FOR CATHAY PACIFIC
- Latest News
- Thursday, 27 July 2006
Group turnover increased 19.1 per cent to a record HK$50,909 million. Fuel costs for the year increased 67.2 per cent to HK$15,588 million. Passenger and cargo fuel surcharges only partially offset this additional cost. The airline’s unit cost excluding fuel decreased by 1.9 per cent with the carrier maintaining continued efforts to increase productivity and reduce controllable overheads.
Passenger revenue increased 14.6 per cent to a record HK$30,274 million. The airline carried 15.4 million passengers in 2005, up from 13.7 million the previous year. Passenger yield improved 1.1 per cent to HK46.3 cents with strong demand from first and business class passengers. Capacity, measured in terms of available seat kilometres, or ASKs, increased 11.8 per cent as the airline continued to expand its fleet and network.
The airline carried a record 1,118,047 tonnes of freight and set a cargo revenue record of HK$11,585 million. New freighter services commenced to Shanghai, Dallas and Atlanta. However, the carrier said both cargo yield and load factor decreased to HK$1.75 and 67.0per cent respectively citing increased competition and a slowdown in the growth of exports from Southern China.
The airline launched a third daily service to Los Angeles, a fourth daily service to London, and increased frequencies to Amsterdam, Beijing, Ho Chi Minh City, Johannesburg, Nagoya, Perth, Seoul and Singapore. It also commenced a new three-times-weekly service to Xiamen in China.
Nine aircraft entered service in 2005, including the world’s first B747-400BCF, or Boeing Converted Freighter, for which the airline has firm orders for five more and options for a further six. One new B747-400F freighter, one B777-300, three A330-300s and three refitted second-hand B747-400 passenger aircraft joined the fleet. Cathay Pacific’s fleet will total 101 aircraft by September 2006, when the airline celebrates its 60th Anniversary.
