Cathay November cargo up 6.3pc to 140,824 tonnes, third monthly rise

CATHAY Pacific Airways and Dragonair posted a 6.3 per cent year-on-year increase in cargo and mail to 140,824 tonnes, marking the third consecutive monthly increase.

"The uptick in demand that began in late September continued through November, driven shipments of hi-tech consumer products out of key manufacturing centres in western and central China and Vietnam," said Cathay cargo chief James Woodrow, adding that the airline ran a full freighter schedule in November and a number of charter flights.

But November tonnage still fell short of the record achieved in November 2010, he said. "While we welcome the recent upturn in demand, we have not seen the kind of sustained year-end peak we saw in previous years and the market outlook continues to be uncertain, particularly from Asia to Europe," said Mr Woodrow.

The load factor fell 1.4 percentage points to 63.9 per cent. Capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres rose 5.1 per cent while cargo and mail tonne kilometres flown increased 2.8 per cent. For the year to date, tonnage has declined 6.1 per cent against a capacity drop of 3.5 per cent.

In November, Cathay Pacific and Dragonair carried 2,361,137 passengers - an increase of 3.8 per cent compared to the same month last year. The passenger load factor rose 0.7 percentage points to 79.2 per cent, while capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), showed a 4.3 per cent decrease. For the year to date, passenger numbers increased 5.2 per cent compared to a capacity increase of 3.3 per cent.

"A combination of fewer flights and using more of the fuel-efficient, but smaller, Boeing 777-300ERs on long-haul routes brought down our overall capacity in November," said Cathay revenue chief James Tong.

"We continued with our strategy to strengthen our regional network, adding a new Dragonair service to Kolkata. Passenger numbers were satisfactory in Economy cabin on long-haul routes, but demand in the premium cabins continued to be weaker than expected, especially within the region. Yield remained under pressure in all classes," Mr Tong said.