Over the past week, when the world’s attention was attracted by the Paris Air Show, Cathay Pacific released its passenger traffic figures for May 2023. The Hong Kong based airline is making up some ground, however much is still to be done. Let’s take a closer look at figures and outlook for Cathay Pacific in 2023.
Cathay Pacific Carries More Than 1.4 Million Passengers in May 2023
The main and most important piece of news is the data regarding passenger numbers. In the month of May 2023 alone, Hong Kong’s main carrier transported 1,417,906 passengers. It makes zero sense to compare this figure with May 2022, as a year ago traffic figures where almost non existent.
What is more important for the airline is that traffic is back and with healthy performance indicators. For instance in May 2023 Cathay Pacific’s load factor was up by 24% bringing it to 85.1%.
For those less accustomed with this information, load factor is the average percentage of seats filled per flight. The higher the number the better for the airline.
The Airline’s Outlook For 2023
As for all airlines the summer season of 2023 will be of key importance to get the balance sheet looking right. Demand for travel has had a strong rebound with passengers in Europe and America already travelling heavily in 2022. In 2023 the hope of Cathay Pacific is that there will be a strong return of mainland Chinese travellers too.
With travel demand on the rise through its Hong Kong hub, Cathay Pacific is also concentrating on rebuilding its route network. Having to cope with some of the most stringent covid travel restrictions the airline shut down many of its routes. Lucrative routes to Europe, Australia and New Zealand were paused. Now its time for the airline to try to re-conquer its lost market share. The resumption of flights to Johannesburg, Christchurch and Chicago hopes to help achieve this vital goal.
