Cathay Pacific today released its traffic figures for February 2023, as the airline’s positive momentum at the start of the year continued and a number of exciting new developments were introduced in its cargo business.
The airline carried 103,932 tonnes of cargo last month, an increase of 59.6% compared with February 2022, when our cargo capacity was significantly reduced due to stricter aircrew quarantine measures.
The month’s cargo revenue tonne kilometres (RFTKs) increased 153.9% year-on-year.
The cargo load factor decreased by 13.7 percentage points to 66.7%, while capacity, measured in available cargo tonne kilometres (AFTKs), increased by 206.1% year-on-year.
In the first two months of 2023, the tonnage increased by 42.8% against a 201.3% increase in capacity and a 147.4% increase in RFTKs, as compared with the same period for 2022.
Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Lavinia Lau said: “Looking at our cargo business, tonnage grew 9% in February compared to January, reflecting the gradual recovery in demand following the Lunar New Year holidays.
“Inbound demand from the Americas, Europe, Northeast Asia and Southwest Pacific remained steady, especially across our special solutions, such as Cathay Fresh and Cathay Pharma.
“Ad-hoc demand from Southeast Asia as well as South Asia, the Middle East and Africa (SAMEA) also helped fill the gaps left by demand from Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland on long-haul routes.
“February saw a number of exciting new developments, including the launch of Cathay Cargo – a rebrand of our cargo business.
“The change aligns with the Cathay Group’s overarching ambition to ‘Move Beyond’, and reinforces our cargo business’s commitment to offering leading-edge services to our customers.
“Cathay Cargo notably also became the first airline – and Cathay Pacific Services Limited the first cargo terminal operator – to utilise the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) Logistics Park in Dongguan.
“This enables us to offer our customers seamless sea-air shipments from the Greater Bay Area (GBA) directly into HKIA for outbound airfreight.
Outlook
“Turning to March and beyond, we are making good progress in increasing our capacity and rebuilding connectivity at the Hong Kong international aviation hub.
“By the end of March, the Cathay Group will be operating approximately 50% of pre-pandemic passenger flight capacity, covering more than 70 destinations.
“On the cargo side, demand from our home market, Hong Kong, as well as the Chinese Mainland is increasing, with e-commerce-related traffic picking up relatively more quickly.
“We are progressively expanding our network coverage as more of our passenger flights are resumed.”
