=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/news/archive/2003/08/11/f= inancial0748EDT0015.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday, August 11, 2003 (AP) Cathay Pacific says traffic growth shows rebound from SARS crisis, but not = yet fully recovered (08-11) 04:48 PDT HONG KONG (AP) -- Passenger traffic bounced back sharply at Cathay Pacific Airways in July, but the carrier said Monday it still has a long way to go before fully recovering from the SARS crisis. Cathay said it carried 874,228 passengers in July, compared with 459,627 in June, but the figures were down by 21 percent compared with traffic in July 2002. Cathay and other airlines in the region have slashed their prices to try to lure back business lost during the SARS outbreak, and that will keep revenues down for the time being, executives warned. "July's 21 percent drop in passenger volume illustrates how summer holid= ay bookings to Hong Kong evaporated," said Ian Shiu, Cathay's general manager for revenue management, sales and distribution. Hong Kong was hit hard by severe acute respiratory syndrome, suffering 1,755 cases and about 300 deaths. Air traffic was devastated when in April the World Health Organization warned people to avoid Hong Kong because of SARS, although arrival figures have climbed steadily since the travel advisory was lifted in May. Cathay said last week it had lost a record 1.241 billion Hong Kong dolla= rs ($159 million) in the six months ending June 30 after scrapping hundreds of flights during the SARS crisis. The carrier is working to bring it schedule back to normal but said Mond= ay the number of flights was off by 18.9 percent in July compared with a year ago. =20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2003 AP