Cathay Pacific's traffic figures rise to 1.188 million in November

The figure was boosted by strong demand from business travelers and by heavy traffic to and from the Middle East, Malaysia and Indonesia at the end of the Ramadan season. RPKs (or revenue passengers per kilometre flown) stood at 1,053,794 for Middle East and Southeast Asia, an increase of 22.9 per cent from November 2003.

Cathay Pacific Country Manager for UAE and Oman Philip Herbert said: "Business traffic was buoyant, with both improving loads and yield, as companies sought to close deals by the end of 2004. The end of Ramadan also boosted loads and we are also seeing growth in the number of UAE travellers going to Hong Kong and Southeast Asia as their destination of choice for both business and leisure."

Mr. Herbert added that the airline expects December to also be a very busy month thanks to the large numbers travelling over the Christmas and New Year periods. To meet the growing demand between the UAE and Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific added two new flights earlier this month, bringing the number of flight to Hong Kong to 13 flights per week.

Cargo was also strong with Cathay Pacific carrying 86,933 tonnes in November. The UAE is a major cargo port for the airline with over 40 freight flights a week serving Hong Kong, Brussels, Frankfurt, London, Manchester, Milan, Munich and Paris. The cargo business of Cathay Pacific in the UAE is set for a further boost following the recently-concluded "Hong Kong in Style" exhibition, held recently at the Trade Centre. Hong Kong's major exports to the UAE include clothing; telecommunications equipment; watches and clocks; parts & accessories of office machine/computers; audio & video recorders & players; and pearls, precious & semi-precious stones.

In a report by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, the UAE was cited as being Hong Kong's top export market in the Middle East. In the first seven months of 2004, Hong Kong's exports to the UAE surged year-on-year by 4.2 per cent., while Hong Kong's re-exports to the UAE increased by 3.8 per cent and domestic exports rose by 26.4 per cent.

"We continue to be optimistic about business between the UAE and Hong Kong. Both are the leading trading centres and logistics hub of their region, as well as being world-class cities. This augurs well for Cathay Pacific and we are continuing to add capacity to meet market needs as we carry more passengers and cargo between Dubai and Hong Kong," concluded Mr. Herbert.

Cathay Pacific flies 13 times a week from Dubai from Hong Kong, with 7 non-stop flights, 2 services via Bahrain, and 4 services via Mumbai and Bangkok.