Cathay Cargo sees strong growth as freight demand rises
August shipments up 13% year-on-year, with new freighter services planned to meet rising global demand
The Cathay Group reported strong cargo performance in August 2025, with Cathay Cargo carrying 13% more freight compared with the same month last year. Available Freight Tonne Kilometres (AFTKs) rose by 15%, while overall tonnage in the first eight months of 2025 increased by 11% year on year.
Cathay’s Chief Customer and Commercial Officer, Lavinia Lau, said demand for capacity into the Americas remained robust in August. She highlighted that the carrier’s Cathay Dangerous Goods solution recorded notable growth, driven particularly by lithium battery shipments to Oceania.
Looking ahead, Lau noted that September should see continued momentum as the traditional cargo peak begins, spurred by new high-tech product launches. To meet this demand, Cathay Cargo will introduce additional freighter services, including a new weekly flight to Madrid starting 13 October 2025.
Operational figures showed Cathay Cargo carried 139,821 tonnes of freight in August, a 12.5% increase compared with the same month in 2024. Revenue Freight Tonne Kilometres rose by 13.2%, while the cargo load factor stood at 56.4%.
Across the first eight months of 2025, Cathay Cargo operated 10,049 freighter flight sectors, carrying more than 1.08 million tonnes of freight.
While the focus remained on freight, the Cathay Group also noted in its August update that it carried over 110,000 passengers per day during the summer travel peak.
