Cathay Pacific grew passenger numbers by over 42%, year-on-year, last month; carrying just under 1.9 million people across its route network in March compared to the same month last year.
Much of the passenger growth was driven by demand flying out of Hong Kong for the Easter holiday period.
Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Lavinia Lau said: “Our travel business performed well in March with healthy demand across our services both leading up to and during the Easter holiday period. Student traffic from the United Kingdom was particularly strong ahead of Easter, and outbound and return traffic in general surged over the holidays.
“Demand in the premium cabins both to and from Hong Kong also remained strong. This was driven by the various exhibitions and trade shows that took place in the city in March, most notably the Hong Kong International Jewellery Show and Art Basel. We were also pleased to resume our direct flights between Bangkok and Singapore in March, which have been popular with customers.
“Looking ahead to the Chinese Mainland’s forthcoming Labour Day ‘Golden Week’ holiday period, we are seeing a healthy increase in travel demand from the Chinese Mainland to Hong Kong, as well as to regional destinations via the Hong Kong hub. We will be increasing our Chinese Mainland frequencies to around 200 round-trip flights per week as a Group during the Golden Week to cater for this strong demand.”
The Hong Kong airline giant has also announced a major overhaul of its Premium Economy class – introducing new food and wine offerings and more comfortable and private seating. The food offering is in collaboration with numerous renowned Hong Kong restaurants.
Cathay Pacific’s General Manager Customer Experience and Design Vivian Lo said: “We always put our customers at the centre of everything we do. We listen to our customers, and ensure that we understand what is important to them. These valuable insights continuously motivate us to go above and beyond to elevate our customers’ journeys and ensure that their experience with Cathay is truly unforgettable whenever they fly, shop, spend or dine with us.
“Whether it’s refreshing the inflight experience with new cabin products, creating memorable wining and dining experiences, enhancing our award-winning inflight entertainment experience, and much more, our investments in augmenting the customer experience are all part of our continuous efforts to become one of the world’s greatest service brands – and, from there, the best premium airline.”
