Cathay Pacific Group sees 'significant shortfall' in inbound advance bookings

Cathay Pacific Group chief customer and commercial officer Ronald Lam stated (17-Dec-2019) the carrier continues to see "significant shortfall" in inbound Hong Kong advance bookings, albeit partially offset by the improvement of transit passenger traffic. Mr Lam noted Nov-2019 continued to be "very challenging" for both Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong, with sentiment for travel still weak. Cathay's inbound traffic declined 46% year-on-year, a further slowdown from the 35% decline in Oct-2019. Outbound traffic declined 8%, a slight improvement over previous months. He added: "Our increasing reliance on transit Hong Kong traffic, which has been less impacted, together with intense competition has meant overall yield remained under significant pressure". [more - original PR]