Cathay Pacific H1 2024 passenger traffic rises 36% on year; Hong Kong's jet fuel demand bolstered

Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways carried a total of 10.7 million passengers over the January-June period, a 36.4% year-on-year increase, while flight capacity -- measured available seat-kilometers -- rose 42.7%, the company reported in its 2024 interim results Aug. 7.

Passenger traffic, measured in revenue passenger-kilometers, increased 34.9% on the year in the first half of 2024.

This brought passenger load factor to 82.4%, 4.8 percentage points lower compared to the same year-ago period.

"Our passenger flights reached 80% of pre-pandemic levels as a Group within the second quarter as planned," Cathay Group Chair Patrick Healy said in a statement. "As more passenger flights have been added to the market, we have seen yields begin to normalize as expected."

"Our strong performance for the first six months of the year was primarily driven by the ongoing robust demand for travel, and the solid performance of our cargo business," he added.

Cathay Pacific carried 719,000 mt of cargo in the first half of the year, an increase of 10.4% compared to the same year-ago period. Cargo revenue tonne kilometers and cargo flight capacity rose 4.6% and 11.4% year on year, respectively.

"Demand was robust in the first half of 2024 with solid support from e-commerce and some traditional commodities, especially electronics," the company said in its results statement. "The overall tonnage growth in Hong Kong and the rest of the Greater Bay Area exceeded our capacity growth compared with the same period last year."

Overall, Cathay Pacific's revenue totaled HK$44,784 million in H1 2024, up 14% on the year.

Tracking growth in Cathay Pacific's air traffic, Hong Kong imported 3.4 million kiloliters (541,107 b/d) of jet fuel/kerosene over January-June, surging 29.75% in the same year-ago period, latest Census and Statistics Department data showed. The data is published in kiloliters, which S&P Global Commodity Insights converts to barrels using a factor of 6.2898.

Reflecting improving demand, the Platts-assessed FOB Singapore jet fuel/kerosene cargo flat price averaged $100.48/b in H1 2024, $1.52 higher compared to the same period a year ago, S&P Global Commodity Insights data showed. At the Asian close Aug. 8, the flat price was assessed at $89.89/b.

Looking ahead, demand for jet fuel is expected to remain strong for the rest of the year, driving global oil demand alongside gasoline and petrochemicals, Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser told reporters on a media call Aug. 6.

According to Nasser, global oil demand is anticipated to grow by 1.6 million b/d to 2 million b/d this year, up from his previous forecast of 1.5 million b/d in March.

Asian jet/kerosene demand growth will remain strong on the year at 304,000 b/d in the third quarter, driven by continued strength in the aviation sector due to increased global and regional air travel demand, Commodity Insights analysts said in the latest Asia short-term outlook for refined products.

Notably, China and Southeast Asia will continue to lead regional jet/kerosene growth at a rate of 200,000 b/d and 67,000 b/d, respectively. Japan is also experiencing a resurgence in demand, with an anticipated year-on-year increase of 43,000 b/d in the third quarter, the analysts added.