Cathay Pacific’s cargo tonnes were up 12% year-on-year in June, with pharma shipments helping to lift what is usually a "slower month".
The airline carried 124,568 tonnes of cargo in June and the month’s cargo revenue tonne kilometres (RFTKs) increased 5.6% year on year.
The cargo load factor decreased by 2.1 percentage points to 59.6% as available cargo tonne kilometres (AFTKs) increased by 9.4% year on year.
In the first six months of 2024, cargo tonnage increased by 10.5% to a total of 719,464 tonnes, against an 11.4% increase in AFTKs and a 4.6% increase in RFTKs, compared with the same period for 2023.
Chief customer and commercial officer Lavinia Lau said: "June is traditionally a slower month for air cargo; however, demand was stronger than anticipated and we observed strong year-on-year tonnage growth from Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland, Japan and Europe in particular.
"Across our network, our tonnage was 3% higher than May and 12% above June last year. In terms of commodity mix, we observed an uptick of pharmaceuticals shipments, especially from Europe."
The carrier also launched a new product in June for outsize cargo.
“In June, we relaunched Cathay Expert to provide customers with a fully customised handling solution for their odd size, heavy or fragile cargo. The response from our customers has been positive and we observed a 34% tonnage improvement for Cathay Expert compared with the previous month," said Lau.
Looking ahead, Lau said Cathay is positive on air cargo demand for the second half of the year.
“For cargo, the second half of the year is the traditional peak period and we expect the healthy demand we have seen throughout the first half of the year to continue. Market sentiment, particularly out of Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland, continues to be positive.
"We will continue to adjust our freighter capacity to accommodate our customers’ needs, including adding more freighter capacity to the Americas."
https://www.aircargonews.net/airlines/cargo-up-at-cathay-pacific-as-it-closes-in-on-pre-covid-levels/
https://www.aircargonews.net/airlines/e-commerce-continues-to-drive-up-cathays-cargo-volumes/
