Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd carried more than 2.26 million passengers in March, an increase of 19.8 percent from the same period last year, the Cathay Group said on Wednesday.

Hong Kong’s flag carrier flew 2,256,242 passengers last month while capacity — measured in available seat kilometers —increased 25.5 percent year-on-year.

In the first quarter of 2025, the number of passengers carried rose by 23.4 percent compared with the same period in 2024.

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“While we saw softer demand for leisure travel in March due to the absence of long-weekend holidays in Hong Kong, demand for our premium cabins remained robust, driven by various mega-events and exhibitions in the city such as the Hong Kong International Jewellery Show and Art Basel Hong Kong,” said Lavinia Lau, Cathay chief customer and commercial officer.

She added that the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens also generated strong inbound demand, especially on many long-haul routes.

Cathay Cargo carried 10.6 percent more cargo in March than in the same period last year. Available Freight Tonne Kilometres increased by 8.5 percent while load factor decreased by 1.2 percentage points year-on-year.

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In the first three months of 2025, the total tonnage increased by 12 percent compared with the same period last year.

“Specialist solutions continue to be our area of focus. We saw notable growth in Cathay Priority during the quarter end and are pleased to have launched our refreshed Cathay Fresh solution to provide a high-quality, dependable and consistent service for transporting perishables,” Lau said.

“Furthermore, we have recently achieved an industry first with our new intermodal cold-chain route via the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge, delivering chilled seafood from Southeast Asia into the Greater Bay Area through our Hong Kong hub,” she added.

HK Express

Budget carrier HK Express, which Cathay Pacific acquired in 2019, carried 616,098 passengers last month, marking an increase of 25.4 percent year-on-year, while capacity grew by 35.6 percent.

In the first three months of the year, the number of passengers flown by the carrier increased by 34.3 percent compared with the same period for 2024.

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“HK Express maintained its growth momentum in March, announcing more new destinations and adding flight capacity,” Lau said.

She said the carrier is launching flights to Nha Trang, Ishigaki and Komatsu this month and will add Changzhou and Yiwu to its network in May.

Cathay Pacific is also launching services to Dallas and Urumqi in the coming days, Lau added.