Cargo carried by Cathay Pacific increased 20 percent YoY in September
Overall tonnage in September increased by more than 5 percent month-on-month, the most cargo we’ve carried in a single month since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic, according to chief customer and commercial officer Ronald Lam.
Cathay Pacific carried 130,997 tonnes of cargo and mail during September 2021, an increase of 20 percent compared to September 2020 but a decline of 24 percent from the pre-pandemic period of 2019.
The revenue freight tonne kilometres (RFTKs) increased 22 percent year-on-year but was down 14 percent compared to September 2019, according to an official statement.
“Overall tonnage in September increased by more than 5 percent month-on-month, the most cargo we’ve carried in a single month since the start of the Coronavirus pandemic,” chief customer and commercial officer Ronald Lam said. “Our time-sensitive Priority LIFT product as well as our charter and freighter solutions have also seen keen interest from customers.”
The cargo and mail load factor increased by 3.8 percentage points to 80 percent while capacity, measured in available freight tonne kilometres (AFTKs), was up 16 percent year-on-year.
For the first nine months of 2021, tonnage was down 5 percent while RFTKs declined 7 percent compared to the same period for 2020. Cargo and mail carried was 8,23,088 tonnes while the cargo and mail load factor is 79.7 percent.
Cargo demand continued to grow as we stepped into the traditional cargo peak season, Lam said. “To meet this demand, we operated our freighter fleet at peak capacity throughout September, further supplemented with additional cargo-only passenger flight operations, which surged 20 percent compared to August.”
Demand continues to be robust for cargo, Lam said, driven by the movement of new consumer products and the urgent need for inventory replenishment due to supply chains remaining constrained.
