Cathay Pacific 2015 Annual Report Download - page 19

Annual Report 2015
17
Review of Operations Passenger Services
Home market – Hong Kong and Pearl River
Delta
• Demand for leisure travel from Hong Kong was strong in
2015, especially during the Chinese New Year, summer
and Christmas peak periods.
• Japan was the most popular leisure destination for Hong
Kong travellers in 2015. The depreciation of the
Japanese yen increased demand.
• Demand for travel to Korea during the summer fell due to
the incidence of middle east respiratory syndrome in
Korea. We reduced our services accordingly, returning to
a full schedule in September 2015.
• Demand for leisure and business travel originating from
the Pearl River Delta increased in 2015. We increased our
sales force in Guangzhou.
India, Middle East, Pakistan and Sri Lanka
• The performance of our India routes was satisfactory in
2015. There was more travel between India and Mainland
China.
• Low fuel prices adversely affected the economy and the
travel demand in the Middle East. Competition has
increased, as Middle Eastern carriers operate more
direct services to Mainland China, Southeast Asia and
North America.
• Economy class demand, however, remained strong on
the India subcontinent and Middle Eastern routes. To
meet this demand, we have removed premium economy
seats and increased economy class seat capacity for our
Airbus A330-300 aircraft operating on these routes.
• We stopped flying to Doha in February 2016, but
continue to offer a codeshare service with Qatar Airways
on this route.
• Traffic on the Colombo route grew strongly. We
increased the frequencies of our direct flights to
Colombo from four flights a week to daily in October
2015.
• Dragonair increased Kolkata service from five to six
flights a week in May 2015.
Southwest Pacific and South Africa
• The performance of our Australian routes was
satisfactory in 2015. Demand for travel between
Mainland China and Australia was stable. The value of
the Australian dollars fell significantly. This increased
demand for travel to Australia but adversely
affected yield.
• Capacity was added on the Sydney route in October
2015 by using a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft on a second
service from Hong Kong. We increased the frequency of
the Adelaide service from four to five flights a week from
December 2015 to March 2016.
• Business on the Perth route was affected by a downturn
in the mining sector in Western Australia.
• Business on the New Zealand route was steady in 2015.
We increased the frequency of the Auckland service
from one to two flights a day from December 2014 to
March 2015. We increased capacity by using Boeing
777-300ER aircraft on one of these flights from
December 2015 to February 2016. In August 2015,
Cathay Pacific and Air New Zealand received
reauthorisation for their strategic agreement on the
Auckland Hong Kong route until 31st October 2019.
• The performance of the South Africa route improved in
2015, as travel sentiment to Africa improved. Group
travel recovered strongly. Demand for premium travel
was strong.
Southeast Asia
• Demand for travel to Cambodia, the Philippines and
Vietnam was strong in 2015. We increased the frequency
of the Jakarta service from 21 to 26 flights a week in
January 2015, increased the Manila service from 47 to
49 flights a week in March 2015, and increased the Ho
Chi Minh City service from 16 to 18 flights a week in
November 2015. Dragonair stopped flying to Manila in
June 2015.
• We reduced capacity on the Bangkok route between
August and October 2015. Demand fell due to safety
concerns. The full schedule was restored in
November 2015.