Strong demand for business travel to Hong Kong has been reported by Cathay Pacific on the back of increased carryings in February.
The carrier cited the number of exhibitions taking place in the city for boosting corporate travel.
This came as the airline achieved a “significant milestone” on February 18 by carrying more than 70,000 passengers and operating a total of 272 passenger flight sectors, the most on a single day since the start of the pandemic.
Total passenger numbers rose by more than 61% year-on-year last month to reach 1.8 million as more people flew for Chinese New Year. Capacity on European routes rose by 29%.
Chief customer and commercial officer Lavinia Lau said: “Our passenger business performed well in February as customers travelled for Chinese New Year.
“Looking ahead, we anticipate demand will progressively grow leading up to the Easter holidays, especially on long-haul routes.
“We are seeing strong demand for business travel into Hong Kong with various exhibitions taking place in the city.”
She added: “Throughout our rebuild journey, we have put in great effort to not only resume destinations and increase frequencies, but also expand our network and bring more business opportunities and leisure travel destinations for the Hong Kong travelling public.
“We are excited to announce that Cathay Pacific will be launching passenger flights to Riyadh, the capital and financial hub of Saudi Arabia, in the fourth quarter of this year, and we will share more details in due course.