Cathay Pacific Airways announced on Tuesday that in the first six months of 2006, the airline carried 8.14 million passengers, up 11.1 percent over last year's same period.

The company's freight volume was also up 10.5 percent at 572, 552 tons during the same period, according to a press release of the Cathay Pacific.

In June, Cathay Pacific carried a total of 1.39 million passengers, up 10.7 percent over June, 2005.

The airline carried 96,255 tons of freight in June, up 7.6 percent year-on-year. The airline's cargo business received a boost from the launch of a new service to Mumbai and Chennai in India, with flights commencing on June 2.

Cathay Pacific General Manager Revenue Management, Sales & Distribution Ian Shiu said: "the performance for June is quite impressive. Long-haul routes to Europe and North America were particularly strong, with healthy front-end business helping to offset the impact of increased competition on back-end yields."

(Xinhua News Agency July 12, 2006)