Dragonair Q1 cargo volume up 8.1pc

HONG KONG-BASED Dragonair carried 92,281 tonnes of cargo in the first three months of the year compared to 85,395 tonnes during the same period last year, an 8.1 per cent year-on-year increase.

An airline statement pointed out that in March alone, cargo volume surged 46.9 per cent compared to the previous month and 6.6 per cent compared to a year earlier.

Dragonair's CEO Stanley Hui said: "We carried the second-highest amount of cargo in our history in March, at 36,262 tonnes. The rise was a reflection of the return to normal manufacturing and trading activity after the Chinese New Year holidays in the previous months."

During Q1 the airline carried 1.23 million passengers between January and March 2006, representing a 10.7 per cent increase over the same three-month period in 2005. The March passenger figure stood at 444,183, up 10.4 per cent from the 402,313 who travelled in the same month last year.

"Our figures for the first three months of 2006 were underpinned by a strong March, which saw a 13.3 per cent month-on-month rise in the number of passengers travelling with us. Both individual traveller and group numbers were higher."

The airline statement pointed out that since the implementation of the Individual Travel Scheme in July 2003, more than 11 million China mainland residents have visited Hong Kong. The scheme currently covers 38 mainland cities.

"Fuel prices have kept on rising to new highs, resulting in further bottom-line pressure. This, combined with a more open market and more competition, is making the operating environment very difficult at present despite the better passenger and cargo numbers," Mr Hui added.