Cathay Pacific Airways Thursday released its traffic figures for July 2005 that showed continued strong passenger and cargo demand as the airline entered the height of the summer season.

In July, the airline carried 1,442,783 passengers, a 13.7 percent increase year-on-year, as the holiday season got into full swing, and 96,228 tons of cargo, up 19.1 percent from a year ago. Both passenger and cargo loads grew faster than corresponding increases in capacity. The cargo business was unusually brisk during what is typically a slower time of the year.

The average passenger load factor in July was a high 84.0 percent with strong support from both business and leisure travelers. The airline carried in excess of 50,000 passengers on five separate days during the month. More cargo shipments from Shanghai routed through Hong Kong, showing the city's importance as a gateway to the Chinese mainland for cargo and passengers.

Cathay Pacific General Manager Revenue Management, Sales and Distribution Ian Shiu said: "We would normally expect business traffic to ease during the July holiday season but the front end was as full as Economy, where there was high demand from leisure travelers. Yet high fuel prices continued to take the shine off strong revenue".

Cathay Pacific Director and General Manager Cargo Ron Mathison said: "July was another good month with healthy growth in exports from the mainland to the United States and Europe. Transhipments from Shanghai were particularly strong helping to boost overall tonnage growth."

(Xinhua News Agency August 12, 2005)