HK Express as the rest of the Cathay Group releases on a monthly basis figures regarding the number of passengers transported. As with the other airlines that release this data, it is interesting to keep track and observe what the progress is to better understand financial results.
In this post:
HK Express 2026 Passenger Figures
| Year | Month | Passengers Transported 2026 | Load Factor 2024 | ASK | RPK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | January | 717,561 | 81.10% | 1,648,350 | 1,337,244 |
| 2026 | February | 730,402 | 86.20% | 1,550,006 | 1,335,785 |
| 2026 | March | 750,668 | 84.40% | 1,637,389 | 1,382,338 |
| 2026 | April | 729,846 | 82.00% | 1,613,614 | 1,322,934 |
| 2026 | May | 674,397 | 75.40% | 1,631,620 | 1,229,731 |
| 2026 | June | ||||
| 2026 | July | ||||
| 2026 | August | ||||
| 2026 | September | ||||
| 2026 | October | ||||
| 2026 | November | ||||
| 2026 | December | ||||
| Total | – | 3,602,874 | 81.82% | 1,616,196 | 1,321,606 |
As is the case with Cathay Pacific mainline, passenger figures have been up for HK Express since the beginning of 2026.
All key performance indicators are green for the Hong Kong-based low-cost carrier, with average load factor being up and so are available seats per kilometer and revenue passengers per kilometer.
However, there is a pattern emerging as we move closer to the 2026 summer months. The pattern regards the speed of growth which is slowing down when compared to 2025.
In February and March Hong Kong Express achieved growth north of 20% while in April and May the margin was much slimmer, just shy of 5%.
Prior Year Passenger Volume Comparison
HK Express 2025 Passenger Figures
| Year | Month | Passengers Transported 2025 | Load Factor 2024 | ASK | RPK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | January | 667,079 | 84.6% | 1,460,744 | 1,235,941 |
| 2025 | February | 585,941 | 79.9% | 1,359,886 | 1,086,813 |
| 2025 | March | 616,098 | 79.0% | 1,459,666 | 1,153,052 |
| 2025 | April | 695,607 | 85.2% | 1,507,899 | 1,284,791 |
| 2025 | May | 643,322 | 74.1% | 1,569,393 | 1,163,117 |
| 2025 | June | 582,886 | 70.5% | 1,452,824 | 1,023,720 |
| 2025 | July | 685,784 | 75.7% | 1,619,321 | 1,225,156 |
| 2025 | August | 802,091 | 85.4% | 1,708,155 | 1,458,272 |
| 2025 | September | 529,216 | 72.7% | 1,304,021 | 948,674 |
| 2025 | October | 683,476 | 76.5% | 1,633,152 | 1,249,776 |
| 2025 | November | 639,120 | 83.4% | 1,413,721 | 1,178,700 |
| 2025 | December | 781,542 | 86.2% | 1,668,517 | 1,437,851 |
| – | Total | 7,912,162 | 79.43% | 1,513,108 | 1,203,822 |
Over 2025 HK Express passenger figures have seen a progressive growth in the number of available seats per kilometer (ASK) which have not been linearly followed by the revenue seats per kilometer. That has brought to a drop in load factor which, with 2 months of data left to gather stands at 78.4%.
That might not seem as a worrying figure, however due to the nature of the low-cost airline model it is far from ideal. Margins are razor-thin in the low-cost airline segment and load factors need to be in range or above the 90% mark to achieve serious profits that can sustain this sort of enterprise.
The increase in ASK, however, also indicates that the Cathay Group is trying to increase the market share for the airline. It seems seats are being put on the market hoping that passenger figures will follow in the latter stages of 2025 and early 2026.
Overall, HK Express passenger figures for 2025 should come just shy of the 8 million mark. Time will tell if the trend will continue upwards in 2026 or not.