Cathay Pacific continued to record double-digit cargo growth in January, marking an increase in tonnage across its entire network, further driven by perishable shipments between the Southwest Pacific and Asia.

The Hong Kong flag carrier carried 114,790 tonnes of cargo in January 2024, an increase of 20.7% compared with January 2023.

It said that the month's cargo revenue tonne kilometres (RFTKs) increased 11.4% year on year, and the cargo load factor decreased by 3.6 percentage points to 58.6%.

Available cargo tonne kilometres (AFTKs) increased by 18.3% year on year during the period.

Perishable shipments boost January cargo

"Demand for air cargo traditionally softens in January after the year-end peak period, and our tonnage was down 11% compared with December 2023. However, when compared with January 2023, tonnage was up by 21%," said Lavinia Lau, chief customer and commercial officer at Cathay Pacific.

"Demand started to improve from the second week of January, and we observed an increase in tonnage across our entire network. Perishable shipments were the bright spot, especially from the Southwest Pacific to Asia," she added.

Looking ahead, Lau signalled the tapering of demand beyond the Chinese New Year holiday.

"In terms of cargo, the strong demand continued through to the start of the Lunar New Year holiday but has now begun to ease," the chief customer and commercial officer at Cathay Pacific added.

Lau also mentioned that in March, Cathay Cargo will be the host airline for IATA's World Cargo Symposium 2024, as it marks the first time that the city will host this major annual IATA event.

It is scheduled to take place from March 12 to 14.