Cathay Pacific this week announced the handling of nearly 18m passengers in 2023, a triple-digit improvement from 2022, when post-COVID turbulence was still hitting them.
The Hong Kong-based carrier handled 1,779,457 passengers in December 2023, which was a 120.1% increase compared to the same period in 2022.
Without further ado, let’s get into it…
Cathay Pacific Handles Nearly 18m Passengers in 2023…
Below is the full breakdown for Cathay Pacific and their performance in 2023, which was measured against 2022:
| CATHAY PACIFIC TRAFFIC | DEC2023 | % ChangeVS DEC 2022 | CumulativeDEC 2023 | %ChangeYTD |
| RPK (000) | ||||
| – Chinese Mainland | 323,033 | 375.5% | 3,409,675 | 585.4% |
| – North East Asia | 1,049,071 | 106.5% | 10,062,123 | 920.2% |
| – South East Asia | 929,916 | 104.4% | 9,206,298 | 613.6% |
| – South Asia, Middle East & Africa | 448,752 | 129.6% | 3,903,290 | 604.1% |
| – South West Pacific | 1,057,295 | 81.8% | 9,365,105 | 368.0% |
| – North America | 1,862,265 | 78.7% | 19,782,983 | 274.4% |
| – Europe | 1,339,963 | 56.9% | 17,612,312 | 324.3% |
| RPK Total (000) | 7,010,296 | 89.3% | 73,341,787 | 396.8% |
| Passengers carried | 1,779,457 | 122.1% | 17,985,158 | 541.5% |
| Cargo revenue tonne km (000) | 737,251 | 14.1% | 8,098,956 | 40.3% |
| Cargo carried (000kg) | 128,546 | 20.7% | 1,380,819 | 19.6% |
| Number of flight sectors (passenger and cargo) | 9,031 | 76.5% | 89,946 | 114.0% |
Cathay Pacific Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Lavinia Lau said the following on the results:
“December traditionally marks the peak travel season and we saw many customers take advantage of the extended Christmas holiday to travel, resulting in strong demand for travel services throughout the month.”
“There was overwhelming demand for travel to short-haul leisure destinations, with Japan and Southeast Asia being especially popular.”
“We saw good demand for travel from the United States and the Southwest Pacific in the first half of December.”
“The demand for travel from the United Kingdom was particularly strong as it coincided with the peak period for international students returning to Hong Kong.”
“Furthermore, our seasonal Christchurch service, which resumed last month, was popular not only among Hong Kong customers, but also stimulated transit traffic to and from the Philippines and the United Kingdom.”
All eyes will be on how the airline’s 2024 will perform moving forward for Cathay Pacific.
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