Cathay Cargo recorded its best month for 2024 in December as e-commerce and perishables boosted volumes.
The airline carried a total of 1.5 million tonnes of cargo in 2024, which was 11% higher than in 2023.
The airline carried 143,564 tonnes of cargo in December 2024, an increase of 11.7% compared with December 2023.
December's volume was also higher than the 142,601 tonnes of cargo it handled in November.
For December, cargo revenue tonne kilometres (RFTKs) increased 6.5% yearly. The cargo load factor increased by 0.6 percentage points to 61.4%, while available cargo tonne kilometres (AFTKs) increased by 5.5% yearly.
"For cargo, the healthy market momentum seen in previous months continued into December, resulting in the highest tonnage of any month in 2024," said Lavinia Lau, chief customer and commercial officer at Cathay.
"Demand for e-commerce shipments from Hong Kong and the rest of the Greater Bay Area remained robust during the year-end festive season. We also saw significant demand for perishables and seasonal produce from South West Pacific and the Americas to Hong Kong and other parts of Asia," she added.
Lau said Cathay also saw an increase in tonnage of Cathay Expert solutions arising from the movement of machinery and engines, particularly from North Asia.
Lau said Cathay, as a group, Cathay, completed its two-year rebuild journey and reached 100% of our pre-pandemic flights from January 2025.
"Looking ahead, we remain firmly focused on further strengthening Hong Kong's status as a leading international aviation hub, adding more flights and destinations for both passengers and cargo customers."
"Just recently, Cathay Pacific announced the launch of direct flights between Hong Kong and Rome starting June this year. As a Group, we have already announced six new destinations so far for 2025 as we strive towards reaching 100 destinations worldwide this year."
"In terms of cargo, we anticipate demand to be softer during the first half of January before picking up again towards the Lunar New Year holiday," the Cathay chief customer and commercial officer said.
