Cathay cargo volume declines 8.4pc to 139,944 tonnes in April

HONG KONG'S Cathay Pacific Airways, together with its sister airline Dragonair, posted an 8.4 per cent decline in April cargo and mail volume to 139,944 tonnes year on year, which was attributed to a general weakening in market demand.


The two airlines cargo load factor was down 11 percentage points to 68.3 per cent. Capacity, measured in available cargo-mail tonne kilometres, was up 13.4 per cent, while cargo and mail tonne kilometres flown declined 2.3 per cent. For the year so far, tonnage has dropped 0.3 per cent compared to a capacity increase of 19.4 per cent.


"Our key Hong Kong home market remained soft throughout April while demand out of the major manufacturing areas of China weakened further, particularly to Europe," said Cathay cargo sales chief James Woodrow.


"However, once again the outbound weakness was offset to some extent by fairly robust demand into Asia. We reduced our freighter services on long-haul trunk routes in line with demand last month and will do the same in May as the markets stay quiet," he said.


Cathay Pacific and Dragonair carried a total of 2,258,004 passengers last month - up 4.1 per cent on the same month last year - while the passenger load factor was down 3.6 percentage points to 80.3 per cent. Capacity for the month, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), was up by 11.6 per cent. For the year to date, the number of passengers carried is up by 1.7 per cent compared to a capacity rise of 10.1 per cent.


Said Cathay revenue chief Tom Owen: "Demand on North American and south east Asian routes remained strong, and regional demand from Hong Kong was given a boost by the Easter holidays. The China network was solid, improving the quality of revenues on Dragonair, while Europe rebounded off the low base last year resulting from the airspace closures. Premium demand continued to be generally firm, benefiting from the Canton Fair. The continued slump on Japan routes remains a concern, with few signs yet of material pick-up."
(Source:http://www.schednet.com)