Sister carriers Cathay Pacific and Dragonair experienced a modest month of cargo volume growth in April, mainly coming from intra-Asia trade and the continued aftereffect of the U.S. West Coast congestion.
The Hong Kong-based airlines carried 144,579 tonnes of cargo and mail last month, up 5.2% year-over-year. The cargo and mail load factor fell by 0.5 percentage points to 62.6%. Capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometers, rose by 7.3% while cargo and mail revenue tonne kilometers (RTKs) flown increased by 6.3%. In the first four months of the year, tonnage rose by 10.5% against a capacity increase of 9.1% and a 13% rise in RTKs.
“Our cargo business benefitted from a modest rush in demand out of the home market before Easter and the pick-up after the holiday was reasonably swift,” said Mark Sutch, Cathay Pacific general manager for cargo sales and marketing.
“Demand out of the key manufacturing centers in Mainland China fluctuated throughout the month and we faced intense competition out of Western China cities. Transpacific business held up well and we continued to benefit from the logjam of freight in seaports on the West Coast of the United States, even after the industrial dispute was resolved. We saw robust demand out of Southeast Asia, and Vietnam in particular, in April while strong traffic to India remains a key focus.”
Meanwhile, passenger demand remained robust as the two carriers carried a total of 2.9 million passengers in April, an increase of 7.7% compared to the same month last year. Patricia Hwang, Cathay Pacific general manager for revenue management, said demand was boosted by the Easter and Ching Ming holiday at the beginning of the month, particularly out of the home market.
“Japan, Korea and Thailand were the most popular destinations for Easter getaways from Hong Kong though we also saw high load factors to other Asian destinations and Australia/New Zealand. Demand in the premium cabins was slightly behind expectations, particularly on long-haul routes.”
Photo: RHL Images
