-
Cathay Pacific carried 124,236 tons of cargo in August, an increase of 6.3% compared to the same month last year
-
Year-on-year, however, August 2024’s cargo revenue ton kilometers decreased slightly by 0.9%
-
The airline’s cargo load factor slipped by 1.7 percentage points to 57.1%, while available cargo ton kilometers rose by 2.1% year-on-year
Cathay Pacific carried 124,236 tons of cargo in August, an increase of 6.3% compared to the same month last year, the airline said in a statement.
Year-on-year, however, August 2024’s cargo revenue ton kilometers (RFTKs) decreased slightly by 0.9%.
The airline’s cargo load factor slipped by 1.7 percentage points to 57.1%, while available cargo ton kilometers (AFTKs) rose by 2.1% year-on-year.
From January to August this year, tonnage increased by 9.8% to a total of 970,498 tons, against an 8.8% rise in AFTKs and a 3.2% hike in RFTKs, compared with the same period last year.
Lavinia Lau, Cathay’s chief customer and commercial officer, said cargo demand “remained stable in August, continuing the trend of the past months, with tonnage 6% above August last year. We observed an uptick in demand towards the end of the month, in line with expectations as we look ahead to the traditional year-end peak.”
Lau also said cargo demand remained stable in August, “continuing the trend of the past months, with tonnage 6% above August last year.”
In terms of special solutions, Cathay Live Animal benefitted from exports from Southeast Asia and North America, while Cathay Pharma saw increased exports from the US.
From the Greater Bay Area, e-commerce shipments were still the key driver of export tonnage.
Looking ahead, cargo demand will be robust “as we move into the traditional peak season from the second half of September,” according to Lau.
Five additional flights per week to North America will be operated. E-commerce tonnage will continue to rise, and the airline foresees an increase in tonnage of high-tech and electronic goods from the Chinese mainland, Southeast Asia, and India.
As per the latest IATA 2023 World Air Transport Statistics, Cathay Pacific regained its position in the Top 10 cargo carriers based in scheduled cargo ton kilometers, and was at fifth position as a combination airline.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong-based airline carried two million more passengers for the second consecutive month in August.
A total of 2,068,979 passengers were carried by Cathay for the month, an increase of 15.9% compared to August last year.
Revenue passenger kilometers rose 15.9% year-on-year, while passenger load factor dropped by 2.9 percentage points to 85.2%, even as available seat kilometers were up 19.8% year-on-year.
