Cathay Pacific Airways : December 2018 Traffic Figures

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CATHAY PACIFIC AIRWAYS LIMITED 國泰航空有限公司

(Incorporated in Hong Kong with limited liability)

(Stock Code: 293)

December 2018 Traffic Figures

The appended press release contains combined traffic figures for December 2018 for Cathay Pacific Airways Limited ("Cathay Pacific") and its wholly owned subsidiary, Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Limited ("Cathay Dragon"). The information in the press release may be price sensitive. This announcement containing the press release is accordingly being issued pursuant to Part XIVA of the Securities and Futures Ordinance. The information in the press release has been prepared on the basis of internal management records. It has not been audited or reviewed by external auditors.

This announcement is issued by Cathay Pacific pursuant to Part XIVA of the Securities and Futures Ordinance.

The information in this announcement has been prepared on the basis of internal management records. It has not been audited or reviewed by external auditors.

Investors are advised to exercise caution in dealing in shares of Cathay Pacific.

As at the date of this announcement, the Directors of Cathay Pacific are:

Executive Directors: John Slosar (Chairman), Rupert Hogg, Gregory Hughes, Paul Loo, Martin Murray;

Non-Executive Directors: Cai Jianjiang, Ivan Chu, Michelle Low, Song Zhiyong, Merlin Swire, Samuel Swire, Xiao Feng, Zhao Xiaohang;

Independent Non-Executive Directors: Bernard Chan, John Harrison, Irene Lee and Andrew Tung.

By Order of the Board

Cathay Pacific Airways Limited David Fu

Company Secretary

Hong Kong, 15th January 2019

15 January 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CATHAY PACIFIC RELEASES COMBINED TRAFFIC FIGURES

FOR DECEMBER 2018

Cathay Pacific Group today released combined Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon traffic figures for December 2018 that show an increase in the number of passengers carried and a drop in cargo and mail uplifted compared to the same month in 2017.

Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon carried a total of 3,105,829 passengers last month, an increase of 1.8% compared to December 2017. The passenger load factor decreased 0.8 percentage points to 83.8%, while capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), increased by 5.8%. For 2018 as a whole, the number of passengers carried grew by 1.9% while capacity increased by 3.5%.

The two airlines carried 182,863 tonnes of cargo and mail last month, a decrease of 4.9% compared to the same month last year. The cargo and mail load factor fell by 4.2 percentage points to 67.7%. Capacity, measured in available freight tonne kilometres (AFTKs), remained unchanged while cargo and mail revenue freight tonne kilometres (RFTKs) decreased by 5.9%. For 2018 as a whole, the tonnage rose by 4.7% against a 2.6% increase in capacity and a 4.2% increase in RFTKs.

Cathay Pacific Director Commercial and Cargo Ronald Lam said: "Business Class demand remained strong during December, with premium leisure traffic over the holiday period being a key driver. We also saw improved yield in Economy Class, especially on our popular regional routes to Japan, Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines.

"Turning to cargo, we finished the year-end peak with strong movements of cargo in the weeks leading up to Christmas and demand slowed down towards the end of the month. Uncertainty remains in the coming months regarding the trade situation between China and the United States."

The full December figures are on the next page.

CATHAY PACIFIC / CATHAY DRAGON COMBINED TRAFFIC	DEC 2018	% Change VS DEC 2017	Cumulative DEC 2018	% Change VS YTD17
RPK (000)
- Mainland China	708,490	-2.6%	9,217,504	1.8%
- North East Asia	1,468,470	5.5%	16,220,604	2.3%
- South East Asia	1,598,533	2.2%	17,398,104	1.3%
- South Asia, Middle East & Africa	988,420	11.2%	9,888,033	1.4%
- South West Pacific	1,662,128	3.7%	15,378,352	1.6%
- North America	3,006,175	3.2%	34,859,037	1.5%
- Europe	2,288,639	9.6%	27,668,110	9.2%
RPK Total (000)	11,720,855	4.9%	130,629,744	3.1%
Passengers carried	3,105,829	1.8%	35,468,218	1.9%
Cargo and mail revenue tonne km (000)	1,038,623	-5.9%	12,122,799	4.2%
Cargo and mail carried (000kg)	182,863	-4.9%	2,151,974	4.7%
Number of flights	7,135	2.2%	81,711	1.8%

CATHAY PACIFIC / CATHAY DRAGON COMBINED CAPACITY	DEC 2018	% Change VS DEC 2017	Cumulative DEC 2018	% Change VS YTD17
ASK (000)
- Mainland China	973,047	-2.9%	11,838,914	0.2%
- North East Asia	1,767,384	8.3%	19,693,748	3.9%
- South East Asia	1,858,476	2.5%	20,919,246	2.8%
- South Asia, Middle East & Africa	1,190,365	13.3%	12,017,776	1.8%
- South West Pacific	1,891,869	1.8%	18,494,485	3.5%
- North America	3,566,698	5.2%	40,307,980	-0.2%
- Europe	2,730,830	10.8%	32,089,870	10.8%
ASK Total (000)	13,978,669	5.8%	155,362,019	3.5%
Passenger load factor	83.8%	-0.8pt	84.1%	-0.3pt
Available cargo/mail tonne km (000)	1,534,617	-0.0%	17,615,939	2.6%
Cargo and mail load factor	67.7%	-4.2pt	68.8%	1.0pt
ATK (000)	2,863,609	2.6%	32,387,156	3.0%

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Cathay Pacific website:www.cathaypacific.com

Glossary

Terms:

Available seat kilometres ("ASK")

Passenger seat capacity, measured in seats available for the carriage of passengers on each sector multiplied by the sector distance.

Available tonne kilometres ("ATK")

Overall capacity measured in tonnes available for the carriage of passengers, excess baggage, cargo and mail on each sector multiplied by the sector distance.

Available cargo/mail tonne kilometres

Cargo capacity measured in tonnes available for the carriage of cargo and mail on each sector multiplied by the sector distance.

Revenue passenger kilometres ("RPK")

Number of passengers carried on each sector multiplied by the sector distance.

Cargo and Mail revenue tonne kilometres

Traffic volume, measured in load tonnes from the carriage of cargo and mail on each sector multiplied by the sector distance.

Ratio:

Revenue passenger kilometres/

Cargo and mail revenue tonne kilometres

Passenger/Cargo and mail load factor = ----------------------------------------------------

Available seat kilometres/

Available cargo and mail tonne kilometres