Dragonair posts small Year-on-Year Rises

Dragonair posted small year-on-year rises in both passenger numbers and cargo volumes in August 2005. The number of passengers flown by the airline increased 0.8% to 448,093, while 31,856 tonnes of freight were carried, up 4.1%. Month-on-month, the airline recorded small declines in both areas.

“The performance was satisfactory given the operating situation in August, when bad weather put off summer leisure travellers and led to many flight cancellations as well,” said Dragonair CEO Stanley Hui.

“Typhoons also affected flights to Taiwan and the east coast cities of the Mainland throughout the month, while floods in the south of the country had an impact on travel there.

“As a result, Group travel in particular was lower during the month. However, business related traffic remained strong.”

Cargo saw a similar pattern, posting a year-on-year rise of 4.1% and a month-on-month decline of 2.7%.

“The 2.7% drop in cargo growth was mainly due to the textile imports dispute between China and the countries of the European Union,” Mr. Hui said. “With the issue now resolved we expect cargo to continue its general uptrend.

“Traditionally we see volumes surge in mid-August; the trade dispute with Europe and one with the US has seen this delayed this year, but we are therefore optimistic about volumes in the coming months.”

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