Cathay Pacific maintained its growth trajectory in November, recording double-digit cargo expansion for the month, driven by the traditional peak season volumes and e-commerce sales events.
The airline carried 142,601 tonnes of cargo in November 2024, an increase of 15% compared with November 2023.
November's volume was also up compared to the 142,323 tonnes of cargo in October 2024, which was an increase of 14.3% compared with October 2023.
The month's cargo revenue tonne kilometres (RFTKs) increased 11.9% year on year. The cargo load factor increased by 1.2 percentage points to 62.3%, while available cargo tonne kilometres (AFTKs) increased by 9.8% year on year.
In the first 11 months of 2024, the tonnage increased by 10.9% to a total of 1,388,501 tonnes, against an 8.9% increase in AFTKs and a 4.8% increase in RFTKs, as compared with the same period for 2023.
"In terms of cargo, November tonnage was at similar levels to the previous month but was 15% higher year on year. We observed healthy market momentum during the peak season, particularly from Hong Kong and other cities in the Greater Bay Area driven by e-commerce sales events," said Lavinia Lau, chief customer and commercial officer.
"There was high demand for perishables from the Americas and Southwest Pacific, with significant deliveries to Hong Kong and other regional routes in Asia. Additionally, we observed an increase in the tonnage of our Cathay Expert solution due to the transportation of machinery and engines, especially from Japan," she added, noting that mail volumes also started to rise as we approached the festive season.
"November also saw the successful launch of our new marketing campaign for Cathay Courier following the special solution’s relaunch in July this year, with our first video showcasing our time-sensitive delivery capabilities," Lau added.
Looking ahead, Cathay expects second-half performance to be better than the first.
Lau also said that the group have completed our two-year rebuilding journey, adding that together, Cathay Pacific and HK Express will reach 100% of pre-pandemic flights from January 2025.
Cathay projects that the two airlines will operate passenger services to 100 destinations around the world by 2025.
"The Group projects a strong second-half financial result driven by elevated cargo demand and reduced fuel prices. This is partially offset by a continued normalisation of passenger yields as the supply of flights increases to meet demand in the overall market as expected," Lau further said.
"The results from associates, recognised three months in arrears, are expected to improve in the second half of 2024 compared with the first half."
Lau continued: "With respect to the Cathay Group’s consolidated 2024 full-year financial result, the second half of the year has historically been the stronger of the two halves for the Group and this has been the case this year as it was in 2023."
