Cathay says March pax, cargo demand was strong

The Cathay Group said Cathay Pacific carried 24% more passengers in March 2026 compared with March 2025, while Available Seat Kilometres (ASKs) increased by 9%. In the first three months of 2026, the number of passengers carried increased by 20% compared with the same period for 2025. Lavinia Lau Cathay Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Lavinia Lau said: “March was a month of contrast. On the one hand, the ongoing situation in the Middle East shifted demand towards other aviation hubs and generated robust volumes on our flights. On the other hand, the price of jet fuel has increased significantly since the start of March and this is placing huge cost pressure on airlines around the world. According to data published by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the global average jet fuel price has increased to US$197.83 per barrel for the week ending 10 April 2026, versus US$99.40 per barrel for the week ending 27 February 2026. In the past month, we have pursued every suitable means to keep our flights operating as normal, including the adjustment of fuel surcharges. However, these measures have not been enough to mitigate the significantly increased fuel costs. Cutting back on capacity has always been our last resort, but regrettably we have had to consolidate a small number of passenger flights from mid-May to end-June. This has affected around 2% of Cathay Pacific’s total frequencies and around 6% of HK Express’s total frequencies during this period. “Beyond June, we plan to operate all our scheduled passenger flights, subject to developments in the Middle East situation and jet fuel price in the coming months. We are remaining agile in our response while striving to maintain our network and frequencies as much as possible for our customers, business partners and the Hong Kong international aviation hub,” Lau said. “Demand for our premium cabins was robust in March, with major events like Art Basel Hong Kong and the Hong Kong International Jewellery Show attracting travellers from various regions in our network. Later in the month, we saw increased leisure travel demand for short-haul markets, as well as holiday travel during Lebaran in Indonesia and in the lead up to Easter. Meanwhile, our non-stop flights to Seattle took off on 30 March 2026.” Cathay Cargo carried 11% more cargo in March 2026 than in March 2025, while Available Freight Tonne Kilometres (AFTKs) increased by 2%. In the first three months of 2026, the total tonnage increased by 8% compared with the same period for 2025. Lau said: “March marks the traditional quarter-end peak period for cargo. Tonnage growth was solid across our network, particularly from our home market of Hong Kong and the wider Greater Bay Area, as well as the rest of the Chinese Mainland, Southeast Asia and Europe. Among our specialist solutions, Cathay Priority recorded increased tonnage as shippers sought to secure capacity on our long-haul routes amid ongoing market capacity adjustments arising from the Middle East situation. Meanwhile, Cathay Expert and Cathay Dangerous Goods also saw a boost from semiconductor and chemical shipments. Turning to April, we anticipate demand on long-haul trunk routes to remain healthy through the seasonal holidays. Market conditions are expected to remain dynamic and sensitive to the ongoing developments in the Middle East, and the consequential capacity constraints across certain trade lanes. Our freighter services to Dubai and Riyadh also remain suspended until 31 May 2026.” HK Express carried more than 750,000 passengers in March 2026, an increase of 22% year on year, while Available Seat Kilometres (ASKs) grew by 12%. In the first three months of 2026, the number of passengers carried increased by 18% compared with the same period for 2025. Singapore Airlines says March traffic rose In March 2026, the Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group’s passenger traffic rose 14.7% year-on-year, outpacing the passenger capacity increase of 7.2%. The Group’s passenger load factor (PLF) was 90.6%, with SIA and Scoot posting monthly PLFs of 90.3% (a new monthly PLF record) and 91.7% respectively. The robust passenger traffic growth was supported by the increase in demand for air travel ahead of the Easter holiday in early April, as well as spillover Europe-bound traffic as capacity through Middle East air hubs was affected by the ongoing Middle East conflict. Combined passenger carriage increased 14.9% year-on-year to 3.8 million passengers, setting a new monthly record for the Group. This brings the total passenger carriage for FY2025/26 to 42.4 million, 7.7% higher than the previous record of 39.4 million in FY2024/25. On the cargo front, cargo loads rose 2.4% year-on-year, against capacity decrease of 1.3%, partly supported by spillover volumes amid disruptions to Middle East airspace. Cargo load factor increased 2.1 percentage points to 59.0%. During the month, Scoot launched services to Tokyo (Haneda) in Japan. In view of the geopolitical situation in the Middle East, SIA and Scoot implemented rolling cancellation of its services to Dubai (the United Arab Emirates) and Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) respectively. As of end-March 2026, the Group’s passenger network0F1 covered 134 destinations in 35 countries and territories. SIA served 77 destinations, while Scoot served 82 destinations. The cargo network comprised 137 destinations in 36 countries and territories. For Editorial Inquiries Contact: Editor Matt Driskill at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Head of Sales Sally Passey at [email protected]