Cathay cargo carried up 20% in Nov

Cathay Pacific carried 123,970 tonnes of cargo in November 2023, an increase of 20 percent compared with November 2022.

"The month’s cargo revenue tonne kilometres (RFTKs) increased 14 percent year on year. The cargo load factor decreased by 5.8 percentage points to 61.1 percent while available cargo tonne kilometres (AFTKs) increased 25 percent year on year," says an official release.

In the first 11 months of 2023, tonnage increased 19 percent to 1.3 million tonnes against a 64 percent increase in AFTKs and a 44 percent increase in RFTKs compared with the same period for 2022, the release added.

“Air cargo demand got stronger in November as we reached the middle of the peak season," says Lavinia Lau, Chief Customer and Commercial Officer, Cathay Pacific. "Tonnage grew around 20% compared with the same month in 2022, largely driven by seasonal sales events such as Singles Day and Black Friday, the Thanksgiving holidays as well as year-end demand as we approach the Christmas holiday period. Aside from e-Commerce, demand was also robust in traditional air cargo commodities such as high-end electronics, automotives and perishables.

"The outlook for December continues to be positive. We expect demand to remain strong through to the beginning of the year-end holidays.”