Cathay Pacific Airways Thursday released traffic figures for May 2005 that show continued steady passenger and cargo volume growth on the back of increased capacity.

In May, the airline carried 1,230,482 passengers, up 15.6 percent year-on-year. There was a corresponding 11.6 percent increase in passenger capacity measured in terms of Available Seat Kilometers, or ASKs. At the same time the airline carried 90,134 tones of freight, a 12.8 percent increase over May 2004.

The passenger load factor was 75.7 percent, up 1.4 percentage points from May 2004, and the cargo load factor was 66.5 percent, down 3.5 points. Year to date, there was a 15.8 percent increase in the number of passenger carried over the same period last year and a corresponding 9.0 percent increase in the volume of cargo.

"Passenger numbers and revenue were up but so too was the price of fuel, the asking price for which has increased by almost two- thirds in the past year," Cathay Pacific General Manager Revenue Management, Sales & Distribution Ian Shiu said.

Source: Xinhua