The Cathay Pacific Group saw its cargo volumes decline again in May, with demand shrinking by 3.9% year on year to 168,270 tonnes.
The cargo and mail load factor fell by 4.7 percentage points to 63.9%. Capacity, measured in available freight tonne kilometres (AFTKs), was up by 4.6% while cargo and mail revenue freight tonne kilometres (RFTKs) dropped by 2.6%.
In the first five months of 2019, the tonnage fell by 5.0% against a 1.0% increase in capacity and a 5.3% decrease in RFTKs.
The airline said that yields had also come under pressure during the month.
Cathay Pacific Director Commercial and Cargo Ronald Lam said: “Our cargo business continued to be adversely affected by geopolitical tensions and resulting dampened market sentiment. Despite positive capacity growth in May, cargo revenue saw negative growth over last year. Both volume and yield incurred decline year-on-year. We shall remain vigilant in order to best match our capacities to changes in market demand and trade flow.”
