Cathay Pacific Passenger Numbers Drop 97%
Cathay Pacific has reported its passenger numbers for April 2020. The Hong Kong-based carrier recorded decreasing capacity by 97 per cent in response to the global coronavirus pandemic.
However, even with this capacity reduction, the passenger load factor was a paltry 21.7 per cent, with the year-on-year decrease from April 2019 to April 2020 registering at 99.6 per cent.
April numbers
Last month, Cathay Pacific operated a bare skeleton flight schedule to just 14 cities.
With demand at its lowest levels in recent memory, Cathay Pacific and its subsidiary Cathay Dragon carried fewer than 500 passengers per day.
In total, April 2020 saw 13,729 passengers board a Cathay Pacific or
Cathay Dragon flight– 99.6 per cent lower than 2019’s data from the same month.
Passenger load factor was down 62.3 per cent from April 2019 to 21.7 per cent.
Capacity in available seat kilometers (ASKs) was down 97.3 per cent. That was not all, however.
In the first four months of 2020, the carrier saw a 64.4 per cent decrease in the number of passengers coupled with a 49.9 per cent decrease in capacity compared to the first four months of 2019.
Cargo also took a big hit
While many airlines are turning to cargo, Cathay Pacific notched a 48.3 per cent decrease in cargo and mail compared to April 2019.
In total, the two airlines carried 84,634 tonnes of cargo last month.
However, with a 44.1 per cent decrease in capacity, Cathay Pacific noted that cargo and mail load factor was up 7.6 per cent to 70.1 per cent compared to April 2019.
However, for the first four months of 2020, total tonnage fell 26.6 per cent while capacity dropped similarly by 25.4 per cent.
Cathay Pacific has been working on conducting cargo-only flights. At the end of April, the carrier started loading cargo in the passenger cabins of 777s.
These jets will service long-haul markets for the next few months. However, through April, the lack of passenger services where the airline could haul cargo in the hold contributed to the decrease in capacity.
Government-imposed restrictions
Government restrictions especially hit Cathay Pacific.
Hong Kong banned transit traffic– something which generally supports Cathay’s operations. In addition, Hong Kong is denying entry to non-Hong Kong residents.
It is unclear when these restrictions will end.
Financial support
Unfortunately, however, these decisions have been hurting Cathay Pacific, although the government of Hong Kong has provided some financial support for the airline.
Notably, a majority of Cathay Pacific’s inbound travelers in April came from North America and the UK, according to the airline.
Until Hong Kong lifts bans on travel restrictions, Cathay Pacific will likely continue to take hits.
Most of the airline’s fleet is parked, and it does not appear that the recent uptick in travel will extend to Cathay Pacific– for now. In May, Cathay expects daily passenger numbers to remain at around 500. Business and leisure passenger numbers have both seen significant hits from this virus.
Increase capacity
In June, however, the airline does plan on increasing capacity slightly from 3 per cent to 5 per cent compared to 2019’s numbers.
However, with recovery looking a few years away, the airline is looking at shaking up its order book, deferring deliveries, and engaging in sale-and-leaseback agreements to raise short-term cash.
Hong Kong is taking several steps, including using new technology to clean the airport and instituting strict entry and quarantine procedures.
Meanwhile, Cathay Pacific requires face masks onboard.