Cathay Group started the new year with a post-pandemic record for the number off passengers flown on a singe day.
The milestone of more than 110,000 passengers came over the Lunar New Year travel peak on January 25.
Cathay Pacific carried 37% more passengers during the month to 2.3 million compared with January 2024, while regional arm HK Express saw numbers rise to a record high of more than 667,000.
Chief customer and commercial officer Lavinia Lau pointed to eight new destinations joining the joint network this year with more announcements still to come.
She said: “Following the Christmas and New Year holidays, Cathay Pacific witnessed a resurgence in business travel demand leading to a solid load factor in the premium cabins.
“January also marked the peak period for outbound student traffic as the school term resumed, boosting demand on long-haul routes.
“Towards the end of the month, passenger travel demand from our home market, Hong Kong, and the Chinese mainland increased significantly during the Lunar New Year holiday, with short-haul destinations being the most popular. Looking ahead, we anticipate a quieter period for leisure travel demand until the end of March.
“In addition to carrying a record number of passengers and expanding its network in January, HK Express also increased flights on a number of its routes, with Tokyo (Narita) increased to six daily return flights and Hiroshima to four return flights per week. Extra sectors to Hualien, Chiang Mai, Bangkok and Phu Quoc were also mounted over the Lunar new year peak season.”