Cathay Pacific Reports 9% Passenger Increase in September

Cathay Pacific Airways reported a 9% increase in passenger numbers for September 2026, carrying approximately three million passengers across its operations with HK Express, despite ongoing challenges from high jet fuel prices. The results, released in a mandatory disclosure to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, indicate continued recovery in air travel demand.

The airline attributed the growth to strong outbound student traffic from Hong Kong and Mainland China to long-haul destinations, particularly the United Kingdom, ahead of the new school year. Demand was also bolstered by leisure travel from Mainland China to Hong Kong and other short-haul locations during the Mid-Autumn Festival and the lead-up to the National Day ‘Golden Week’ holiday. The airline also noted sustained demand for premium cabin travel, reflecting continued strength in both business and premium leisure segments.

Alongside passenger traffic, Cathay Cargo saw a significant 14% year-on-year increase in tonnage carried, exceeding 150,000 tonnes. This growth was primarily driven by resilient demand from Mainland China and Southeast Asia, with specialist solutions like Cathay Priority and Cathay Expert performing well. The company anticipates further strengthening of cargo demand as it approaches the traditional year-end peak season.

HK Express, a subsidiary of Cathay Pacific, experienced a slight decrease of 1% in passenger numbers during September, carrying over 520,000 passengers. However, the airline highlighted positive performance on its Philippines routes and continued growth on Mainland China routes, with plans to launch a new service to Hefei in December to further expand its network.

Looking at key metrics, Cathay Pacific’s passenger load factor reached 84.2%, a 1.9 percentage point increase year-on-year. Cathay Cargo’s cargo load factor also increased to 58.9%, up 1.8 percentage points. These figures indicate improved efficiency in utilizing available capacity across both passenger and cargo operations. The filing details that Revenue Passenger Kilometres increased 11.4% and Available Seat Kilometres increased 9.0% for Cathay Pacific.