Cathay Pacific’s A330-300. Inset: Brooks. Cathay Pacific’s newly-established Doha-Hong Kong route could help boost air traffic volume this year, Brooks said.

By Peter Alagos/Business Reporter

Cathay Pacific has posted an 18.5% increase in passenger volume for the first two months of 2014 after the airlines ferried more than 6,000 visitors to Hong Kong from the GCC (Gulf Co-operation Council) region.

Nick Brooks, the airlines manager for Qatar, told Gulf Times that from January 1 to February 28, 2014 some 6,487 visitors from the GCC travelled to Hong Kong, an increase of 18.5% compared to the same period last year.

When asked how many passengers the airlines is expecting to ferry from Qatar to the former British colony by the end of 2014, Brooks was optimistic that Cathay Pacific’s newly-established Doha-Hong Kong route could help boost air traffic volume this year.

In March 2014, Cathay Pacific launched its inaugural flight to Qatar at the Doha International Airport (DIA) with a fleet of A330-300 aircraft.

“It’s great to see these numbers moving in the right direction and we look forward to further supporting business and tourism growth between these two great regions,” Brooks added.

He noted that the airline’s loads have “consistently exceeded” 80%, including fully-booked flights from Hong Kong since the March 30 launching of the twice daily flights to Doha.

According to Brooks, Cathay Pacific has always enjoyed a healthy mix of business and leisure travellers but the peak seasons and type of the passenger mix would vary from one destination to another.

Brooks described Qatar as a “fast-growing” tourist and business destination and expects to see year-round demand for Doha, with particularly high peaks just before and after the Ramadan period, Eid al-Fitr, and Eid al-Adha.

“Doha becomes an important hub through which they can access not only Qatar but also Africa, Europe, and the rest of the Middle East,” he said.

Earlier, Cathay Pacific country manager for the UAE and Qatar Brian Yuen told Gulf Times that the airline is expecting more outbound leisure trips from Doha as holiday makers have marked their summer itineraries.

Aside from the summer vacation, Yuen added that they are expecting an influx of tourists to Hong Kong during long holidays like the Christmas season. But corporate travel is expected to remain consistent throughout the year due to business activities between Qatar and Hong Kong, he added. When asked about the possibility of operating freight services to Qatar, Brooks said its daily flights have significant belly capacity, which allows Cathay Pacific to carry the daily freight demand to Qatar.

“We will continue to match capacity with demand, manage freighter frequencies and look into opening new markets,” Brooks added.