Double Digit rises in Passenger and Freight Numbers for Dragonair in March 2004

Dragonair passenger numbers and cargo volumes both posted double-digit month-on-month rises in March, taking freight to a new monthly record.

Strong demand over the month resulted in a 24.9% jump in the number of people flying compared with February: 346,969 passengers, up from 277,702. The number was also higher than the 296,586 passengers that Dragonair flew in March 2003, a month when the impact of the SARS outbreak first began to be felt on travel.

"Business travel continues to be strong," said Chief Executive Officer Stanley Hui. "However, the yield overall remains under pressure."

A double-digit increase was also recorded in the amount of cargo uplifted in March compared with both one month earlier and the same month in 2003.

Dragonair carried 27,485 tonnes of freight, up 17.0% on February and 18.7% on March last year. The figure was a monthly record for the airline, beating the previous mark of 26,452 tonnes set in November 2003.

"The first quarter was very strong for us, with 13,659 more tonnes carried in the first three months of this year than were carried in the same period last year," said Mr. Hui.

"The main reasons behind the year-on-year rise are the increases we have implemented in frequency. These have been underpinned by the general strength of the cargo market, especially in Hong Kong and the Mainland."

He continued: "We expect the strong momentum to be carried forward into April."