Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited and The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited take no responsibility for the contents of this announcement, make no representation as to its accuracy or completeness and expressly disclaim any liability whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from or in reliance upon the whole or any part of the contents of this announcement.

CATHAY PACIFIC AIRWAYS LIMITED 國泰航空有限公司

(Incorporated in Hong Kong with limited liability)

(Stock Code: 293)

December 2016 Traffic Figures

The appended press release contains combined traffic figures for December 2016 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), Ivan Chu, Rupert Hogg, Martin Murray, Algernon Yau;

Non-Executive Directors: Cai Jianjiang, Martin Cubbon, Song Zhiyong, Merlin Swire, Samuel Swire, Xiao Feng, Zhao Xiaohang;

Independent Non-Executive Directors: John Harrison, Irene Lee, Andrew Tung and Peter Wong.

By Order of the Board

Cathay Pacific Airways Limited

David Fu

Company Secretary

Hong Kong, 18th January 2017

18 January 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CATHAY PACIFIC RELEASES COMBINED TRAFFIC FIGURES FOR DECEMBER 2016

Cathay Pacific Airways today released combined Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon traffic figures for December 2016 that show an increase in both the number of passengers carried and the volume of cargo and mail uplifted compared to the same month in 2015.

Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon carried a total of 2,958,925 passengers last month - an increase of 0.9% compared to December 2015. The passenger load factor remained at 85.0%, while capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), grew by 1.3%. For 2016 as a whole, the number of passengers carried rose by 0.8% while capacity increased by 2.4%.

The two airlines carried 174,415 tonnes of cargo and mail last month, an increase of 9.9% compared to December 2015. The cargo and mail load factor rose by 1.6 percentage points to 69.5%. Capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, was up by 3.6% while cargo and mail revenue tonne kilometres (RTKs) increased by 6.1%. For 2016 as a whole, tonnage rose by 3.1% against a capacity increase of 0.6% and a 0.8% rise in RTKs.

Cathay Pacific General Manager Revenue Management Patricia Hwang said: "Overall passenger growth was in line with capacity as the Christmas peak got underway in December. Outbound traffic from Hong Kong was robust over the holiday period. Traffic to Europe rebounded from a low base, which was due to the security concerns of a year ago. Our new operations to Madrid and Gatwick strengthened our network coverage in Europe and the UK. Helped by the weakened yen, Japan also proved a popular leisure destination over the holiday period. While we managed to grow passenger volume, yield continues to come under pressure due to excess capacity in the market."

Cathay Pacific General Manager Cargo Sales & Marketing Mark Sutch said: "The seasonal peak for airfreight carried into December, with exports from Mainland China, Asia and the Americas seeing encouraging year-on-year growth. Demand from our home market of Hong Kong was also sustained. Overall tonnage grew ahead of capacity, with our load factor improving month-on-month. The demand for perishables, machineries and e-commerce products persisted, while our new freighter services to Portland and Brisbane West Wellcamp have also been well received by the market."

The full December figures are on the next page.

CATHAY PACIFIC / CATHAY DRAGON COMBINED TRAFFIC

DEC

% Change

Cumulative

%

Change

2016

VS DEC 2015

DEC 2016

YTD

RPK (000)

- Mainland China

694,293

0.5%

8,947,787

-0.5%

- North East Asia

1,398,363

2.7%

15,534,607

0.8%

- South East Asia

1,588,909

1.6%

17,810,195

3.7%

- India, Middle East, Pakistan & Sri Lanka

629,910

-12.9%

7,269,516

-13.4%

- South West Pacific & South Africa

1,672,954

-2.2%

17,302,197

0.1%

- North America

2,859,527

0.4%

34,125,976

0.8%

- Europe

1,949,868

11.4%

22,487,474

6.0%

RPK Total (000)

10,793,824

1.4%

123,477,752

0.9%

Passengers carried

2,958,925

0.9%

34,322,693

0.8%

Cargo and mail revenue tonne km (000)

1,010,258

6.1%

10,675,341

0.8%

Cargo and mail carried (000kg)

174,415

9.9%

1,854,062

3.1%

Number of flights

6,811

0.0%

78,830

0.2%

CATHAY PACIFIC / CATHAY DRAGON COMBINED CAPACITY

DEC

% Change

Cumulative

%

Change

2016

VS DEC 2015

DEC 2016

YTD

ASK (000)

- Mainland China

951,517

-0.9%

11,544,973

1.6%

- North East Asia

1,653,161

-1.7%

19,257,623

1.9%

- South East Asia

1,846,209

0.2%

21,149,798

2.5%

- India, Middle East, Pakistan & Sri Lanka

779,825

-10.2%

9,171,770

-9.4%

- South West Pacific & South Africa

1,843,321

0.4%

19,702,061

1.8%

- North America

3,371,528

2.3%

39,300,798

2.5%

- Europe

2,247,821

9.8%

25,958,454

8.3%

ASK Total (000)

12,693,382

1.3%

146,085,476

2.4%

Passenger load factor

85.0%

0.0pt

84.5%

-1.2pt

Available cargo/mail tonne km (000)

1,452,900

3.6%

16,571,888

0.6%

Cargo and mail load factor

69.5%

1.6pt

64.4%

0.2pt

ATK (000)

2,659,911

2.5%

30,462,325

1.4%

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Cissy Ho, Corporate Communication Manager - Public Affairs

Tel: +852 2747-5376 Email: cissy_ho@cathaypacific.com

Fanny Chan, Assistant Corporate Communication Manager - Public Affairs Tel: +852 2747-5652 Email: yik_chan@cathaypacific.com

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

Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. published this content on 18 January 2017 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein.
Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 18 January 2017 09:21:03 UTC.

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