Cathay Pacific’s September cargo volume surge

October 23, 2017: Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon have carried 177,691 tonnes of cargo and mail last month, an increase of 9.6 percent compared to the same month last year, according to the latest figures released by the Hong Kong-based airline.

The cargo and mail load factor rose by 3.1 percentage points to 68.1 percent. Capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, was up by 2.6 percent while cargo and mail revenue tonne kilometres (RTKs) increased by 7.5 percent.

In the first nine months of 2017, the tonnage rose by 11.6 percent against a 3.2 percent increase in capacity and a 9.3 percent increase in RTKs.

On the other hand, the two airlines have seen decrease in the number of passengers carried. Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon carried a total of 2,639,559 passengers last month – a decrease of 1.2 percent compared to September 2016.

Ronald Lam, director Commercial and Cargo, Cathay Pacific, said, “Strong frontend momentum proved to be the driver for our passenger business in September, which was a result of growing demand for business traffic. After a generally lacklustre start, which was reflected by a low load factor, backend demand steadily increased and was strong in the lead up to the National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday week in early October. Headwinds in the form of revenue decline persisted in several of our key long-haul markets, although our routes to Japan proved particularly popular, with a significant increase in demand recorded.”

“Meanwhile, the performance of our cargo business remained robust. We ramped up our freighter capacity on transpacific, India and China routes to commensurate with growing demand, and also added a charter operation to the United States. Tonnage growth was well ahead of capacity growth, with a commendable load factor achieved on both long-haul routes as well as regional services. The week of 17-23 September saw us break the company’s all time weekly uplift tonnage record. A high freight load factor has also helped to underpin a sustained recovery in cargo yields.”