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China Airlines and EVA Air report third consecutive month-on-month passenger growth
September 18th 2020
Taiwanese carriers, China Airlines (CAL) and EVA Air, recorded a third straight month of increasing passenger numbers in August. Read More »
EVA Air's monthly traffic report said the airline had 46,075 passengers in August, up 17.4% from 39,262 in July and more than double the 22,337 it flew in May.
Passenger revenue has risen month-on-month since a low of T$448 million (US$15.4 million) in April to T$905 million in August.
Flag carrier CAL flew 30,398 passengers in August, up 21% from 25,088 in July and a near tripling of the 11,031 it carried in May.
August also was the fourth consecutive month of passenger revenue growth for CAL. From a low of T$270 million in April, the SkyTeam alliance member lifted passenger revenue to T$628 million in August.
The figures were encouraging, but they were still well down from pre-COVID-19 levels, given passenger numbers in August were 97.8% and 96.2% below a year ago for CAL and EVA Air, respectively.
Scope to narrow that gap in the months to come likely depended on when and how international borders are reopened. Research on a potential vaccine also is a key plank in any recovery.
Taiwan, a nation of 24 million people, is working on safe travel zones, or bubbles, with a number of countries, although their effectiveness in freeing up international travel will hinge on the scope of the relaxed travel rules.
It was reported this week the annual four-day Taipei International Travel Fair, due to be held from October 30 to November 2, is scheduled to go ahead, albeit with a much lower attendance and fewer exhibitors.
Despite the travel restrictions, Taiwan Visitors Association secretary-general, Luo Chiung-ya, told local media delegations from Japan and South Korea were planning to attend the fair.
While passenger numbers remain depressed, cargo figures from CAL and EVA tell a different story.
For the past three months, EVA has posted year-on-year growth in cargo tonnage of 30.39% for June, 39.14% for July and 21.53% for August.
Cargo revenue for the period was T$12.9 billion, more than double the T$6 billion in the three months to August 31, 2019. Cargo yields have been positive for the past six months.
It was a similar story at CAL, which reported cargo revenue of T$8.2 billion in August, up 108% from T$3.5 billion a year ago.
