The Group’s passenger revenue decreased by 0.8% to HK$36,226 million. Capacity increased by 6.4%, reflecting the introduction of new routes (to Boston and Zurich) and increased frequencies on other routes. The load factor increased by 2.3 percentage points to 85.9%. Strong competition, a significant reduction in fuel surcharges, foreign currency movements and the fact that a higher proportion of passengers were connecting through Hong Kong put downward pressure on yield, which decreased by 9.3% to HK60.4 cents. Demand on regional routes was strong, particularly in economy class. There was strong economy class demand on long-haul routes. But premium class demand, though robust on shorthaul routes, was weaker than expected on some long-haul routes.