HONG KONG's Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon carried 185,156 tonnes of cargo and mail last month, a drop of 2
HONG KONG's Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon carried 185,156 tonnes of cargo and mail last month, a drop of 2.5 per cent compared to the same month last year. The cargo and mail load factor fell by 2.2 percentage points to 68.5 per cent. Capacity, measured in available freight tonne kilometres (AFTKs), was up by 0.3 per cent while cargo and mail revenue freight tonne kilometres (RFTKs) dropped by 2.9 per cent.
In the first three months of 2019, the tonnage fell by 4.9 per cent against a 0.2 per cent dip in capacity and a 5.5 per cent decrease in RFTKs.
'It should be noted that the later Easter holiday this year resulted in some distortion in our passenger revenue growth comparison. Passenger volumes were unable to keep pace with capacity growth during March, with yield also coming under pressure in both Business and Economy Class cabins. Meanwhile, the outlook for April, which includes the Easter peak, is promising.
'On the cargo side, we continue to see a trend of year-on-year decline in both volume and yield,' said Cathay cargo chief Ronald Lam.
'However some slight improvements were seen in March when compared to the previous two months, including from our key markets of Hong Kong and mainland China to both regional and long-haul destinations. We continue to closely observe China-US trade talk developments and their impact on global trade flows,' he said.
Cathay group carried 3,111,270 passengers last month - an increase of 2.5 per cent compared to March 2018. The passenger load factor decreased 1.3 percentage points to 83.9 per cent, while capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), increased by 4.9 per cent. In the first three months of 2019, the number of passenger carried grew by 3.7 per cent while capacity increased by six per cent.
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