HONG Kong's cathay Cargo is gaining altitude post-pandemic and is optimistic for demand in 2024, explains Chris Bowden, head of cargo global partnerships at Cathay Pacific.
2023 was a year that saw Cathay and its cargo division Cathay Cargo begin to build up volumes and capacity, plus announce a major freighter order.
From 2020 to 2022, Cathay was shackled by pandemic containment measures, but 2023 was a year of recovery, reports London's Air Cargo News.
'We've recovered pretty quickly from a difficult base,' says Mr Bowden, in an interview with Air Cargo News.
Mr Bowden experienced a baptism of fire when in February 2022 he took on his present role managing the global partnerships and marketing teams of Cathay Cargo and witnessed the rapidly changing challenges the cargo team faced.
He began his career with Cathay in August 2018 as a country manager for Indonesia before moving to Hong Kong with his family in September 2020 when he was appointed head of planning and business improvement focusing on efficiency and customer care.
While belly capacity started returning to the market for many airlines in 2022, Cathay's passenger flights, which account for 50 per cent of its capacity, continued to be impacted by government quarantine restrictions in the first half of the year.
The restrictions in the first half of 2022 also put the brakes on the airline's long-haul freighter operations.
The pandemic rules were relaxed in the second half of 2022, which saw the airline build back flights, particularly in the last quarter. Meanwhile, full freighter operations resumed in June.
Then in 2023, with restrictions lifted and borders in the Chinese Mainland reopened, Cathay rebuilt its network and volumes increased.
Overall, in the first 11 months of 2023, tonnage increased by 19.5 per cent compared with the same period for 2022.
In the second half of the year exports, particularly e-commerce and consumer goods, helped boost volumes from September.
Cathay Cargo has also seen a fourth-quarter peak, greatly helped by e-commerce business.
'By the end of 2024 we're targeting for our cargo capacity to be back to what it was pre-Covid,' says Mr Bowden.
And Cathay Cargo does expect sustained demand in 2024.
'We're seeing lots of opportunities, including transpacific and intra-Asia,' he explains.
Cathay believes that demand for e-commerce will persist throughout 2024, and that this, coupled with demand for traditional cargo means '2024 demand will be an increase on 2023', says Bowden.
He adds: '[For 2024], generally, we're confident. The comparison point is with pre-Covid. And compared to 2019, we see 2024 as a better year.'
SeaNews Turkey
2023 was a year that saw Cathay and its cargo division Cathay Cargo begin to build up volumes and capacity, plus announce a major freighter order.
From 2020 to 2022, Cathay was shackled by pandemic containment measures, but 2023 was a year of recovery, reports London's Air Cargo News.
'We've recovered pretty quickly from a difficult base,' says Mr Bowden, in an interview with Air Cargo News.
Mr Bowden experienced a baptism of fire when in February 2022 he took on his present role managing the global partnerships and marketing teams of Cathay Cargo and witnessed the rapidly changing challenges the cargo team faced.
He began his career with Cathay in August 2018 as a country manager for Indonesia before moving to Hong Kong with his family in September 2020 when he was appointed head of planning and business improvement focusing on efficiency and customer care.
While belly capacity started returning to the market for many airlines in 2022, Cathay's passenger flights, which account for 50 per cent of its capacity, continued to be impacted by government quarantine restrictions in the first half of the year.
The restrictions in the first half of 2022 also put the brakes on the airline's long-haul freighter operations.
The pandemic rules were relaxed in the second half of 2022, which saw the airline build back flights, particularly in the last quarter. Meanwhile, full freighter operations resumed in June.
Then in 2023, with restrictions lifted and borders in the Chinese Mainland reopened, Cathay rebuilt its network and volumes increased.
Overall, in the first 11 months of 2023, tonnage increased by 19.5 per cent compared with the same period for 2022.
In the second half of the year exports, particularly e-commerce and consumer goods, helped boost volumes from September.
Cathay Cargo has also seen a fourth-quarter peak, greatly helped by e-commerce business.
'By the end of 2024 we're targeting for our cargo capacity to be back to what it was pre-Covid,' says Mr Bowden.
And Cathay Cargo does expect sustained demand in 2024.
'We're seeing lots of opportunities, including transpacific and intra-Asia,' he explains.
Cathay believes that demand for e-commerce will persist throughout 2024, and that this, coupled with demand for traditional cargo means '2024 demand will be an increase on 2023', says Bowden.
He adds: '[For 2024], generally, we're confident. The comparison point is with pre-Covid. And compared to 2019, we see 2024 as a better year.'
SeaNews Turkey