- Maintaining year-on-year growth in passengers and cargo carried as a Group
The Cathay Group today released its traffic figures for September 2026.
Cathay Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Lavinia Lau said: “September is traditionally a quieter month for travel following the summer peak. Nevertheless, we continued to see year-on-year growth in passengers as well as cargo carried as a Group, although jet fuel prices remain at elevated levels. Cathay Pacific and HK Express together carried approximately three million passengers in September, marking a 9% increase compared with the same period last year. Meanwhile, driven by resilient cargo demand, Cathay Cargo carried over 150,000 tonnes of cargo, up 14% year on year.
“We celebrated Cathay’s 80th anniversary on 24 September with two special dance performances involving members of our cabin crew, sharing this memorable moment with the people of Hong Kong and visitors from around the world. During the month, we also received two important industry accolades, with Cathay Pacific named among the Top 3 World’s Best Airlines by Skytrax and Cathay Cargo named ATW’s Cargo Operator of the Year. These recognitions reinforce our vision of becoming our customers’ most loved service brand, and our determination to strengthen Hong Kong’s international aviation hub status.”
Cathay Pacific
Cathay Pacific carried 12% more passengers in September 2026 compared with September 2025, while Available Seat Kilometres (ASKs) increased by 9%. In the first nine months of 2026, the number of passengers carried increased by 14% compared with the same period for 2025.
Lavinia said: “September saw strong outbound student traffic from Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland to long-haul markets ahead of the new school year, with our flights to the United Kingdom achieving particularly high load factors. This was followed by robust leisure travel demand from the Chinese Mainland to Hong Kong as well as various short-haul destinations towards the end of the month during the Mid-Autumn Festival and in the lead up to the National Day ‘Golden Week’ holiday period. Meanwhile, demand for our premium cabins extended into September, reflecting sustained momentum in both business and premium leisure travel. Looking ahead, we expect demand to remain healthy in the fourth quarter.”
Cathay Cargo
Cathay Cargo carried 14% more cargo in September 2026 than in September 2025, while Available Freight Tonne Kilometres (AFTKs) increased by 5%. In the first nine months of 2026, the total tonnage increased by 9% compared with the same period for 2025.
Lavinia said: “We continued to see year-on-year tonnage growth in September, with demand remaining resilient from the Chinese Mainland and Southeast Asia. In terms of our specialist solutions, Cathay Priority maintained its momentum, boosted by time-critical shipments from Southeast Asia, while continued semiconductor flows underpinned strong demand for our Cathay Expert solution. Looking ahead, we expect demand to strengthen further as we approach the traditional year-end air cargo peak season, supported by a positive market outlook for the fourth quarter.”
HK Express
HK Express carried more than 520,000 passengers in September 2026, a decrease of 1% year on year, while Available Seat Kilometers (ASKs) increased by 10%. In the first nine months of 2026, the number of passengers carried increased by 8% compared with the same period for 2025.
Lavinia said: “Demand for HK Express softened in September following the summer travel peak. That being said, our Philippines routes performed well with high load factors, while our Chinese Mainland routes continued to record year-on-year passenger growth with an encouraging outlook. We will be launching a new four-times-weekly service to Hefei from 3 December, further expanding our Chinese Mainland network.”
The Cathay Group’s full September 2026 figures and glossary are on the following pages.
| CATHAY PACIFIC | SEPTEMBER
2026 |
% Change
VS SEPTEMBER |
Cumulative
SEPTEMBER |
%
Change YTD |
| Available Seat Kilometres (000) | 12,455,168 | 9.0% | 113,188,910 | 9.6% |
| Revenue Passenger Kilometres (000) | 10,481,280 | 11.4% | 98,556,266 | 12.4% |
| Number of passenger flight sectors | 10,354 | 9.6% | 95,137 | 9.8% |
| Passengers carried | 2,453,635 | 11.6% | 24,001,184 | 14.3% |
| Passenger load factor | 84.2% | 1.9%pt | 87.1% | 2.2%pt |
| CATHAY CARGO | SEPTEMBER
2026 |
% Change
VS SEPTEMBER |
Cumulative
SEPTEMBER |
%
Change YTD |
| Available Freight Tonne Kilometres (000) | 1,344,310 | 5.3% | 11,631,731 | 3.3% |
| Revenue Freight Tonne Kilometres (000) | 792,026 | 8.6% | 6,855,755 | 4.7% |
| Number of freighter flight sectors | 1,367 | 4.8% | 11,238 | -1.0% |
| Cargo carried (000kg) | 154,041 | 14.2% | 1,323,513 | 8.9% |
| Cargo load factor | 58.9% | 1.8%pt | 58.9% | 0.8%pt |
| HK EXPRESS | SEPTEMBER
2026 |
% Change
VS SEPTEMBER |
Cumulative
SEPTEMBER |
%
Change YTD |
| Available Seat Kilometres (000) | 1,435,576 | 10.1% | 14,374,062 | 6.9% |
| Revenue Passenger Kilometres (000) | 969,117 | 2.2% | 11,465,405 | 8.4% |
| Number of passenger flight sectors | 3,512 | 5.1% | 35,671 | 5.8% |
| Passengers carried | 524,799 | -0.8% | 6,241,589 | 7.5% |
| Passenger load factor | 67.5% | -5.2%pt | 79.8% | 1.1%pt |
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