The Cathay Group released its traffic figures for January 2025, with Cathay Cargo carriying 13.7% more cargo in January 2025 compared with January 2024.
Available Freight Tonne Kilometres (AFTKs) increased by 14.7% while load factor decreased by 2.5 percentage points year on year.
Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Lavinia Lau said, “Cargo got off to a slower start after the New Year holidays, but demand gradually picked up pace as we approached the traditional pre-Lunar New Year rush. Perishables and seasonal produce from the Southwest Pacific remained robust, and we also observed increased demand for our Cathay Secure solution attributed to increased valuable cargoes from Southeast Asia as well as South Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Softer cargo demand is expected following the Lunar New Year period.
“We were also proud to have the opportunity to showcase our expertise in transporting live animals at the Hong Kong International Horse Show, for which we flew in around 70 competing horses as the event’s official airline partner.”
Lau said in general, “The Cathay Group has got off to a strong start in 2025. Over the Lunar New Year travel peak, on 25 January Cathay Pacific and HK Express combined carried over 110,000 passengers, marking a new post-pandemic record for the number of passengers carried on a single day.
“As a Group, we are continuing to enhance our passenger network for our customers and for Hong Kong as we strive to reach 100 passenger destinations worldwide this year. In January, Cathay Pacific announced the return of direct flights to Rome starting 5 June 2025, while HK Express launched its service to Sendai on 17 January.
"HK Express has also announced flights to Nha Trang and Ishigaki starting 3 April. So far, eight destinations are joining our Group passenger network in 2025, with more announcements still to come.”
Cathay Pacific carried 37% more passengers in January 2025 compared with January 2024. Available Seat Kilometres (ASKs) increased by 30.9% while load factor increased by 3.6 percentage points year on year.
“Following the Christmas and New Year holidays, Cathay Pacific witnessed a resurgence in business travel demand leading to a solid load factor in the premium cabins," Lau said. "January also marked the peak period for outbound student traffic as the school term resumed, boosting demand on long-haul routes.
“Towards the end of the month, passenger travel demand from our home market, Hong Kong, and the Chinese Mainland increased significantly during the Lunar New Year holiday, with short-haul destinations being the most popular. Looking ahead, we anticipate a quieter period for leisure travel demand until the end of March.”
HK Express carried a record high of over 667,000 passengers in January 2025, an increase of 46.1% compared with January 2024, while Available Seat Kilometres (ASKs) increased by 39.7%.
“In addition to carrying a record number of passengers and expanding its network in January, HK Express also increased flights on a number of its routes, with Tokyo (Narita) increased to six daily return flights and Hiroshima to four return flights per week," Lau said. "Extra sectors to Hualien, Chiang Mai, Bangkok and Phu Quoc were also mounted over the Lunar New Year peak season.”
