Cathay Pacific and Dragonair’s combined volume for April 2012 showed another drop in cargo and mail tonnage year-on-year, Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways said in a press statement on May 16.
The two airlines carried 124,531 tonnes of cargo and mail last month, a drop of 11 percent compared to April 2011. The cargo and mail load factor was down by 5 percentage points to 63.3 percent. Capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometers, decreased by 6.8 percent, while cargo and mail tonne kilometers flown dropped by 13.7 percent.
For the first four months, tonnage declined by 10.7 percent against a capacity drop of 3.3 percent, said Cathay Pacific, Asia’s fourth leading carrier by market value.
“After the temporary surge in business in March, driven by large shipments of hi-tech products from Mainland China, demand softened again out of our key markets in April. The general air cargo market remains soft, especially to Europe, though intra-Asia traffic is holding up better, helped by a recent expansion of the passenger network in the region,” said James Woodrow, Cathay Pacific general manager for cargo sales and marketing.
He added that the carrier will continue to manage capacity in line with demand, particularly on long-haul flights to Europe and the trans-Pacific. He also sees fuel prices continuing to be a major concern on long-haul routes.
Photo: curimedia
