Cathay Pacific said it carried more cargo year-on-year in June — although still down from pre-pandemic levels in 2019 citing strong regional demand during the month.

The Hong Kong-based airline also signaled "cautious optimism" that cargo will remain strong throughout 2021.

In a statement, Cathay said it carried 109,423 tonnes of cargo and mail last month, an increase of 17.4% compared to June 2020, but a 33.3% decrease compared with the same period in 2019.

It noted that its traffic figures for June "continued to reflect the airline’s substantial capacity reductions in response to significantly reduced demand as well as travel restrictions and quarantine requirements in place in Hong Kong and other markets amid the ongoing global Covid-19 pandemic."

The month’s revenue freight tonne kilometers (RFTKs) rose 10.3% year-on-year but were down 28.7% compared to June 2019.

Meanwhile, the cargo and mail load factor increased by 5.6 percentage points to 80.6%, while capacity, measured in available freight tonne kilometers (AFTKs), was up by 2.7% year-on-year, but was down 44.4% versus June 2019.

Six-months figure up year-on-year

Cathay Pacific said in the first six months of 2021, the tonnage dropped by 17.6% against a 31.9% drop in capacity and a 20.3% decrease in RFTKs, as compared to the same period for 2020.

"With quarantine restrictions easing following the high uptake of vaccinations among our aircrew, we were able to further reinstate our freighter capacity, especially on our long-haul routes," said chief customer and commercial officer Ronald Lam.

"We were also able to mount considerably more cargo-only passenger flights compared to the previous month, especially on short-haul routes to meet the reasonably strong regional demand," he added, noting that overall, month-on-month tonnage growth matched our capacity growth, ensuring our net cargo load factor continued to average over 80%.

Growth expected through 2021

The carrier said in terms of passenger operations, and subject to travel restrictions "being progressively lifted" in Hong Kong and globally, the carrier expects to operate approximately 30% of our pre-pandemic passenger capacity by the fourth quarter of 2021.

It added that 94% of its pilots and 76% of its cabin crew in Hong Kong have also already booked or received their vaccinations.

"Meanwhile regarding cargo, we are cautiously optimistic that overall demand will be strong for the remainder of the year," Lam said. "The gradual resumption of more passenger services will provide us with greater belly capacity, and should coincide with the usual cargo peak season."

He added that to provide additional lift, the carrier is also in the process of converting two more of our Boeing 777 passenger aircraft into cargo-only ‘preighters’ by removing seats from the Economy Class cabin, bringing our total to six ‘preighters’.

These aircraft will provide support to our general cargo and post shipments around Asia.