Cathay Group releases February 2025 traffic report

The Cathay Group released its traffic figures for Cathay Pacific, HK Express, and Cathay Cargo on Thursday, 20th March.

February marked another positive month for the Cathay Group, as traffic figures were driven by the return travel peak over the Lunar New Year holiday.

Cathay Pacific and HK Express jointly set a new post-pandemic record on 2nd February by carrying more than 111,000 passengers on a single day.

Cathay’s chief commercial and customer officer Lavinia Lau added:”We are pleased to be adding even more exciting new destinations to our expanding global network as we move closer to exceeding 100 passenger destinations within this year.”

Cathay Pacific will be launching flights to Hyderabad at the end of March, and also recently announced a new non-stop service to Urumqi starting from 28th April. 

Meanwhile, HK Express also announced new flights to Komatsu from 24th April, Cheongju from 5th June, Daegu from 6th June, and Miyako (Shimojishima) from 27 June. 

In total, 13 new destinations have already been announced for 2025, with more to come.

Lau said: “In addition, we were proud to have our achievements in cargo and sustainability recognised recently with two prestigious awards from Air Transport World. Cathay Cargo earned the title of Cargo Operator of the Year for the second time in three years, and Cathay Pacific was named Eco-Airline of the Year, becoming the first airline in Asia to receive this distinction.”

Passenger traffic in February 2025

Cathay Pacific carried 14.3 percent more passengers in February 2025 compared with February 2024 as Available Seat Kilometres (ASKs) were up by 17 percent.

In the first two months of 2025, the number of passengers carried by Cathay Pacific increased by 25.4 percent compared with the same period for 2024.

Lau said: “Following the Lunar New Year holiday, leisure travel demand softened while business travel demand picked up, driven by various exhibitions and trade events held in late February and early March. This resulted in February seeing a robust load factor in our premium cabins. Looking ahead, we anticipate reduced leisure travel demand from our home market up to the end of March, during which we will continue to leverage our global network to boost transit traffic.”

At the same time, HK Express carried more than 585,000 passengers in February, marking an increase of 32 percent year on year, while Available Seat Kilometres (ASKs) grew by 38 percent. 

In the first two months of 2025, the number of passengers carried increased by 39.1 percent compared with the same period for 2024.

Lau explained: “HK Express continued its growth trajectory in February, announcing new additions to its network and operating more flights and capacity. March is going to be a quieter month following the leisure travel peak over the Lunar New Year holiday, though we are looking forward to welcoming three interesting new destinations, namely Nha Trang, Ishigaki, and Komatsu in April.”

Cargo performance in February 2025

Meanwhile, Cathay Cargo carried 11.8 percent more cargo in February 2025 than in February 2024. 

Available Freight Tonne Kilometres (AFTKs) increased by 3.5 percent while load factor decreased by 1.4 percentage points year on year. In the first two months of 2025, the total tonnage increased by 12.8 percent compared with the same period for 2024.

Lau said: “Demand from our Hong Kong hub and the wider Greater Bay Area market started slowly due to the Lunar New Year holiday but picked up towards the end of February. We observed continued growth in our Cathay Secure solution, driven by increased shipments of electronics from the Chinese Mainland and Southeast Asia. We were also proud to be the official airline sponsor of the Longines Hong Kong International Horse Show, transporting around 70 of the world’s finest sports horses from Liège and London to Hong Kong, showcasing our expertise and care in transporting live animals.”

She added that, for March, Cathay Cargo expects market demand to pick up as we ramp up our scheduled freighter frequencies to prepare for the quarter end. 

According to Lau, the company is keeping a close watch on the volatility of the cargo market, and that they will leverage their built-in flexibility to make necessary adjustments to their network and capacity to capture demand changes.