June passenger volume and cargo traffic at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) declined by 18.9% and 13.4% when compared to the same month in 2008, to 3.3 million and 270,000 metric tons, respectively. Air traffic movements also decreased by 13.3% to 21,505.

The declines in passenger volume and aircraft movements were mainly attributable to the continually weak global economy and reduction in flights by airlines to reflect lower demand. Demand for travel was further dampened by the global fear sparked by the H1N1 flu virus. As a result, travel by Hong Kong residents and visitors dropped by 12%, visitors by 25% and transfer passenger traffic by 17% year-on-year.

On the cargo side, exports fell 17% year-on-year, mainly due to the continually weak consumption markets in North America and Europe.

For the first half of 2009, HKIA handled a total of 22.4 million passengers, 1.5 million metric tons of air cargo and 138,290 aircraft movements, representing drops of 8.2%, 19.8% and 7.7% ,respectively, when compared to first half of 2008.

Chief Executive Officer of the Airport Authority Hong Kong Stanley Hui said that the airfreight market has shown ‘’signs of stabilizing recovery.” He also expected passenger traffic for the months ahead to see smaller reductions while cargo volume is also expected to gradually recover.

Licensing fees waived for one year

Fees for a number of licenses and permits are being waived for one year, effective July 1. This is a part of the relief measures package announced by the Hong Kong Financial Secretary on May 26 to alleviate the burden of the people and certain sectors that are adversely affected by the economic downturn and the H1N1 flu.

The total cost of the waiver of the licensing fees is expected to amount to US$85.89 million.

The waiver applies to such licenses and permits as: cinema licenses, liquor licenses, karaoke establishment licenses and permits, travel agent licenses, vehicles licenses, passenger service licenses and passenger service licenses certificates, vessel licenses, restaurant licenses, restrict food permits, food vendor licenses and hotel and guesthouse licenses.

Business registration fees waived

Companies applying for business registration or renewal of the business registration certificate with the commencement date falling within August 1, 2009, and July 31, 2010, will have their registration fees waived for one year, subject to the approval of the Legislative Council.

This is a part of the relief measures package announced by the Financial Secretary on May 26 to alleviate the burden of the people and certain sectors that are adversely affected by the economic downturn and H1N1 flu.

The total cost of the waiver of the business registration fees is expected to be US$217.94 million.

The fees for business registration are levied at US$256.41 for a one-year certificate and US$666.66 for a three-year certificate. The proposed waiver will also apply to branch registration fees, which are US$9.36 for a one-year certificate and US$24.23 for a three-year certificate. Businesses are still required to pay the levy for the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund at US$57.69 per annum.

Details of the proposal are available on the Inland Revenue Department’s Web site [www.ird.gov.hk].

Passenger numbers drop

The combined June traffic figures for Cathay Pacific and Dragonair showed a sharp fall in passengers compared to the same month last year, in part due to the impact of the H1N1 flu outbreak. There was also another marked year-on-year drop in the amount of cargo and mail carried.

In June, the two airlines carried a total of 1,738,413 passengers, which is a 18.1% drop compared to the same month in 2008, while the load factor fell by 4.5 percentage points to 76.8%. Capacity for the month, measured in available seat kilometers fell 9.1%. For the year to date, the number of passengers carried fell 4.2% and capacity dropped 2.1%.

The two airlines carried a total of 123,860 metric tons of cargo and mail in June, down 10% year-on-year while the cargo and mail load factor rose 3.8 percentage point to 71.3%. Capacity for the month, measured in available cargo/mail metric ton kilometers fell 14.3%. For the year to date, tonnage dropped 15.4% compared to a capacity drop of 14.1%.

James Tong appointed as new Dragonair CEO

James Tong is Dragonair's new CEO.

Dragonair announced the appointment of James Tong as its chief executive officer, effective August 17, succeeding Kenny Tang.

Prior to taking up this post, Mr. Tong has been general manager sales PRD & Hong Kong at Cathay Pacific Airways, responsible for managing the airline’s passenger business in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta region since April 2008.

Mr. Tong joined Cathay Pacific in July 1987 and has held a number of managerial positions within the commercial and operational departments in Hong Kong, Australia and Germany. He has worked for Dragonair previously, in the position of regional manager Northern China in Beijing from 1994 to 1996, and was also general manager commercial for all cargo-carrier Air Hong Kong from 2002 to 2004. He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Nansha Port ferry route commences

A new ferry route between Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) and Nansha Port in Guangzhou was officially launched on July 14 to further enhance connectivity between the airport and the Pearl River Delta (PRD). The new ferry service also increases the number of PRD ports and weekly cross-boundary ferry trips served by SkyPier to seven and more than 500, respectively.

The new route is operated by Panyu Nansha Passenger Terminal Transport. TurboJET, the operating brand of Shun Tak-China Travel Ship Management, has been appointed as its sole agent.

The 60-minute sailing departs from Nansha Port at 9:30 a.m. and leaves HKIA at 3:30 p.m. each day. Passengers of China Airlines, EVA Airways, Japan Airlines and Mandarin Airlines can enjoy additional convenience by checking in their luggage at Nansha Port and receiving it at their final destination. Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair will also offer this service.

With the addition of the Nansha Port-HKIA route, SkyPier now operates 72 daily ferry trips to and from several PRD ports: Nansha, Shenzhen’s Shekou and Fuyong, Dongguan’s Humen, Zhongshan, Zhuhai’s Jiuzhou and Macau.            
                   

HKIA to add more people-mover cars

Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) is adding eight new Automated People Mover (APM) cars to its existing 20-car APM fleet. An investment of about US$11.54 million, the new cars will provide efficient and convenient connection among the permanent SkyPier, Terminal 1 (T1) and Terminal 2 (T2) by the end of 2009. The expanded fleet will also help HKIA meet future demand growth and maintain the safe and high-level service of APM.

Currently, a fleet of 20 APM cars — a driverless electric train system — is now running between T1 and T2 every two to four minutes. When the permanent SkyPier opens, the expanded APM fleet will extend its service to the new pier, significantly enhancing the level of service from the existing bonded bus service.