The Cathay Pacific Group has announced that the amount of cargo and mail it uplifted at the end of 2019 further decelerated compared to the same month in 2018 still on the back of a “difficult operating environment.”

Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon carried 177,561 tonnes of cargo and mail last month, a decrease of 2.9% compared to the same month last year.

The cargo and mail load factor for December also declined by 1.3 percentage points to 66.4% as capacity, measured in available freight tonne kilometres (AFTKs), was down by 3.8% while cargo and mail revenue freight tonne-kilometres (RFTKs) dropped by 5.7%.

For 2019, the tonnage fell by 6.1% against a 0.3% reduction in capacity and a 6.7% decrease in RFTKs as compared to 2018.

“On the cargo side, our overall volume in December was on par with November and we enjoyed good all-round support from and to all the regions in our network all the way through to the final week of the year,” said Cathay Pacific Group Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Ronald Lam.

Focused on specialized cargo volumes

He noted that so far, its mainland China and Southwest Pacific routes were the outstanding performers, recording both month-on-month and year-on-year improvement in sales.

“Our focus on specialised cargo solutions continued to offer positives; we carried more mail and Fresh LIFT cargo, backed by strong demand for e-commerce and seasonal produce towards the end of the year. We also celebrated our first ever freighter flight to South America, carrying seasonal cherries from Chile back to Asia,” he added.

Cathay Pacific has earlier anticipated its weak performance for the rest of the year on the back of a difficult operating environment. For 2020, it said the conditions would remain “highly challenging.”

It noted, however, that the company will continue to invest in infrastructure and technology to enhance its operations. 

Another “highly-challenging” year

“We anticipate 2020 will continue to present us with a highly challenging operating environment. We remain agile in our operations, ensuring our capacity is best aligned with demand ... our commitment to our customers remains resolute,” Lam added.

“In 2020, we look forward to taking delivery of the first of our modern Airbus A321neo single-aisle aircraft and continuing to prepare for our upcoming Boeing 777-9 aircraft. Customers can look forward to a further enhanced experience on the ground and in the air, as new aircraft are a great platform to showcase the best of what we offer. We will also continue to invest in our digital transformation,” he added.

In terms of passenger volume, Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon carried a total of 2,994,830 passengers in December – a decline of 3.6% compared to December 2018. 

For 2019 as a whole, the number of passengers carried declined by 0.7% against a 5.1% increase in capacity as compared to 2018.

Cathay Pacific said demand for travel into Hong Kong continued to be weak in December with inbound passenger traffic seeing a year-on-year decline of 46% – as sentiment for travel into Hong Kong was particularly weak on our regional routes such as mainland China, Taiwan and Japan.

“Looking ahead, advance bookings for Chinese New Year appear promising with the boost in transit passengers; however, we continue to see a significant shortfall for the period after Chinese New Year, especially from inbound traffic,” it added.