Cathay-Dragonair cargo declines 0.6pc in April as downturn persists

HONG KONG's Cathay Pacific Airways, together with sister company Dragonair, carried 0.6 per cent less cargo and mail in April year on year achieving a throughput of 123,805 tonnes.

In the first four months of 2013, the tonnage dropped 1.2 per cent compared to a capacity decrease of 3.2 per cent, said the Cathay statement.

The cargo and mail load factor fell 2.5 percentage points to 60.8 per cent, said the company, adding that capacity, measured in available cargo-mail tonne kilometres, grew 1.5 per cent while cargo and mail revenue tonne kilometres were down 2.4 per cent.

"The air cargo market took a major dip in April 2011 and has remained in the doldrums for two consecutive years - an unprecedented period of time for the markets to remain weak," said Cathay cargo chief James Woodrow.

"While our tonnage last month was almost on a par with the same month in 2012, it was almost 30,000 tonnes behind what we achieved in April 2010. With no sign of any sustained pick-up, we are continuing to manage freighter capacity in line with demand and increase the overall efficiency of our freighter fleet," he said.

April figures also showed a 2.6 per cent decrease in the number of passengers carried by Cathay and Dragonair, totalling 2,456,438, compared to the same month in 2012.

The passenger load factor was down by 1.9 percentage points to 81.2 per cent, while capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), fell by 4.8 per cent. In the first four months of the year, the number of passengers increased by 1.4 per cent compared to a capacity decrease of six per cent.

"The decrease in passenger numbers was partly accounted for by Easter falling in different months - the holiday began in late March this year, whereas in 2012 it was in April," said Cathay general manager James Tong.

"News about the H7N9 outbreak in mainland China had a negative impact on inbound traffic into eastern China. Overall, demand on most long-haul routes remained strong throughout April, though demand within the region could not keep pace with the capacity increase. Premium class travel was boosted by the start of the Canton Fair," Mr Tong said.