Cathay Pacific’s year-on-year cargo volumes were up 7.4% in April, once again due to strong e-commerce demand.
The airline carried 117,428 tonnes of cargo in April 2024, an increase of 7.4% compared with April 2023. However, the airline noted that volumes had dropped month on month.
Chief customer and commercial officer Lavinia Lau said: “In terms of cargo, tonnage was 13% lower in April than in March. The decrease was expected given the strong quarter-end demand in March and the holidays that fell in the first half of April.
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“However, compared with April last year, tonnage was 7% higher. After the holidays, we observed an uptick in demand with a key driver being e-commerce shipments from Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland.”
The month’s cargo revenue tonne kilometres (RFTKs) decreased 0.4% year on year, while the cargo load factor decreased by 4.2 percentage points to 59.5%,
Capacity also continued to rise, although not as sharply as the previous month. Available cargo tonne kilometres (AFTKs) increased by 6.6% year on year.
In the first four months of 2024, the tonnage increased by 10.1% to a total of 473,808 tonnes, against a 12.9% increase in AFTKs and a 4.5% increase in RFTKs, compared with the same period for 2023.
Cathay Pacific noted it will be adding flights as part of its summer schedule, which will add further belly capacity. The airline is also optimistic about short term cargo volumes.
Lau said: “For cargo, we foresee steady growth in tonnage going forward, particularly on cargo lanes between Asia and North America over the coming months.”
