News
Cathay Group maintained year-on-year growth in passengers and cargo
October 22nd 2026
The Cathay Pacific Group released its traffic figures for September 2026, showing continued year-on-year traffic growth. Read More » “September is traditionally a quieter month for travel following the summer peak. Nevertheless, we continued to see year-on-year growth in passengers as well as cargo carried as a Group, although jet fuel prices remain at elevated levels. Cathay Pacific and HK Express together carried approximately three million passengers in September, marking a 9% increase compared with the same period last year. Meanwhile, driven by resilient cargo demand, Cathay Cargo carried over 150,000 tonnes of cargo, up 14% year on year,” Cathay Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Lavinia Lau said.
Cathay Pacific flew 2,453,635 passengers in September, up 11.6% compared to the same month last year. Capacity (ASK) increased 9% year-on-year. Passenger traffic (RPK) increased 11.4%. Passenger load factor improved 1.9ppt to 84.2% for the month. “September saw strong outbound student traffic from Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland to long-haul markets ahead of the new school year, with our flights to the United Kingdom achieving particularly high load factors. This was followed by robust leisure travel demand from the Chinese Mainland to Hong Kong as well as various short-haul destinations towards the end of the month during the Mid-Autumn Festival and in the lead-up to the National Day ‘Golden Week’ holiday period. Meanwhile, demand for our premium cabins extended into September, reflecting sustained momentum in both business and premium leisure travel. Looking ahead, we expect demand to remain healthy in the fourth quarter,” Lavinia Lau commented.
The Group’s LCC, HK Express, flew 524,799 passengers in September, a 0.8% year-on-year decline. Capacity increased 10.1%. Passenger traffic increased 2.2%. The average load factor declined 5.2 ppt to 67.5% for the month. “Demand for HK Express softened in September following the summer travel peak. That being said, our Philippines routes performed well with high load factors, while our Chinese Mainland routes continued to record year-on-year passenger growth with an encouraging outlook,” said Lau.
Cathay Cargo carried 14% more cargo in September 2026 than in September 2025, while Available Freight Tonne Kilometers (AFTKs) increased by 5%. In the first nine months of 2026, total tonnage rose 9% from the same period in 2025.
