Air Macau has 16pct more passengers

2013-4-3

From：Macau Daily Times

Air Macau recorded a 16 percent increase in passenger load in the first quarter of this year, and the company welcomed the extension of operating hours at the Border Gate and Hengqin checkpoints as reported in the media.
Yesterday the company announced its performance for the first quarter of 2013, during which the carrier recorded over 1.1m passengers, representing a 16 percent year-on-year increase, while the number of flights increased by 19 percent to 11,000 over the same period.
The company said these are 3 consecutive months that the company has recorded a rise in passenger loads, and the best month, March, was when the carrier recorded an increase of 22 percent in the number of passengers. Air Macau credited the significant increase to robust economic development in the city that largely stimulated local resident appetite for overseas travel.
Air Macau’s chairman Zheng Yan was quoted by TDM as saying that the company is positive towards the possible extension of opening hours at the Border Gate and Hengqin checkpoints linking Macau with Zhuhai, as reported by Ou Mun (Macau Daily News). The report said the checkpoints will operate two hours longer by opening one hour earlier in the morning and closing one hour later at night. As the border-crossing with the longest operating hours, the Border Gate currently opens from 7am till midnight. The Hengqin border-crossing starts at 9am and closes at 8pm.
The top executive said the extended accessibility between Macau and Zhuhai will benefit the carrier because better immigration facilities are good for the aviation industry. He pointed out that currently about 70 percent of Air Macau’s passengers are mainlanders and longer operating hours of the border-crossing means additional mainland visitors, especially those from western Guangdong province. The company expressed its intention to further expand its mainland market.
Ou Mun quoted Lao Ngai Leong, a Macau National People’s Congress (NPC) delegate as saying on Monday that Zhuhai is studying a trial extension in Gongbei (the other side of the Border Gate crossing point) and Hengqin to occur during major public holidays when most mainlanders visit the city. These holidays include the Ching Ming Festival, May Day, Chinese New Year and the National Day on 1st October. It is not immediately clear when the trial scheme will start.
Air Macau plans to buy two more aircraft in the coming two years to bring its fleet form 14 to 16 aircraft in order to further expand its coverage currently standing at 22 routes. For cargo flights, the amount of cargo carried by the airline fell by 31.5 percent last year to about 12,430 tons.

Copyright@Macau Daily Times