A Cathay Pacific Airways Boeing 777-300ER (B-KQX) wide-body jet takes off from Vancouver Internationl Airport in January. Photo: VCG

Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon continued to see declines in passenger flows and cargo transport in May. The group anticipates a substantial loss in the first half of 2020. 

Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon carried a total of 18,473 passengers last month, a decrease of 99.4 percent compared to May 2019; the two airlines carried 98,710 tons of cargo and mail in May, a decrease of 41.3 percent compared to the same month in 2019, according to data from Cathay Pacific Group.

The group said that in the first five months of 2020, the number of passengers carried dropped by 71.2 percent against a 59.5 percent decrease in capacity, and tonnage fell by 29.7 percent against a 27.9 percent drop in capacity, compared to the same period in 2019.

Unlike many global airline peers, Cathay has no domestic network and is entirely dependent on cross-border travel. It said the extension of restrictions on foreign arrivals into Hong Kong has emphasized the need to maintain a cautious and agile approach to resuming passenger services.

The group said it plans to operate at approximately 3.5 percent capacity in June and 9.4 percent in July, and it continues to anticipate a substantial loss in the first half of 2020 given the already significant drop in passengers carried and revenue passenger kilometers over the first five months of this year.

Cathay's Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Ronald Lam said that though there have been some small positive signs, such as the ban on transit traffic through Hong Kong International Airport beginning to ease, the future remains very uncertain.

Earlier this week, Cathay Pacific announced a HK$39 billion ($5.03 billion) recapitalization plan designed to provide the company with the necessary funds to survive the current downturn and continue to contribute to the success of Hong Kong as an international aviation hub amid unprecedented challenges to the global travel market.

The International Air Transport Association on Tuesday released its financial outlook for the global air transport industry, showing airlines are expected to lose $84.3 billion in 2020 for a net profit margin of negative 20.1 percent, and the Asia-Pacific region was the first to feel the brunt of the COVID-19 crisis. It is expected to post the largest absolute losses in 2020.