Cathay cargo carried drops 16% in August

Cathay Pacific carried 104,851 tonnes of cargo in August, a decrease of 16 percent compared to August 2021 and a 35 percent decline compared to the same period in 2019.

Cargo revenue tonne kilometres (RFTKs) dropped over 23 percent year-on-year, and were down over 35 percent compared to August 2019. The cargo load factor decreased by 10.7 percentage points to 67 percent, while capacity, measured in available cargo tonne kilometres (AFTKs), was down over 11 percent year-on-year, and down over 41 percent compared to August 2019.

"In terms of cargo, we operated a full freighter schedule in August, which was supported by increased passenger flights as well as regional cargo-only passenger flights," says Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Ronald Lam. "While our overall cargo flight capacity was down 11 percent compared with the same period last year, this was because we operated a significant number of long-haul cargo-only passenger flights at that time. Overall, we operated 59 percent of our pre-pandemic cargo flight capacity in August. Demand has remained flat throughout the summer months but we have continued to make all preparations to ensure smooth operations as we step into the cargo peak season.

"Supporting the Cathay Pacific Group's net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 target, we have extended our carbon-offset programme, Fly Greener, to our air cargo services. The programme not only enables our cargo customers to calculate the carbon emissions for their shipments, but also allows them to purchase carbon offsets to support carbon-offset projects. All selected projects are certified by the internationally recognised non-profit organisation, Gold Standard, to ensure their carbon reductions and societal benefits are verified to have met their standards.

"Furthermore, in an ongoing effort to improve the quality of our service delivery, we have introduced two new Cargo iQ milestone measurements – freight out of warehouse (FOW) and freight into warehouse (FIW). These additional milestones will bring greater transparency to the overall shipment journey, and are now operational at the Cathay Pacific Cargo Terminal in Hong Kong, with plans in place to roll them out across our network in the near future."

Giving an outlook, Lam added: "Whilst the anti-pandemic measures in the Chinese Mainland may affect supply chains, it has been encouraging to see New Product Introduction (NPI) shipments begin in September, which bodes well for the expected solid peak season. As a result, we will continue to maximise freighter capacity, supported by increased passenger services and regional cargo-only passenger flights."

In the first eight months of 2022, the tonnage decreased by 8 percent (731,442 tonnes) against a 25 percent drop in capacity (4.5 million tonnes) and a 32 percent decrease (3.3 million tonnes) in RFTKs compared to the same period for 2021, the statement added.