Cathay Pacific and Dragonair carried 144,579 tonnes of cargo and mail last month, an increase of 5.2 per cent compared to the same month last year. The cargo and mail load factor fell by 0.5 percentage points to 62.6 per cent. Capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, rose by 7.3 per cent while cargo and mail revenue tonne kilometres (RTKs) flown increased by 6.3 per cent. In the first four months of the year, tonnage rose by 10.5 per cent against a capacity increase of 9.1 per cent and a 13.0 per cent rise in RTKs.

Cathay Pacific general manager revenue management Patricia Hwang said: “After a strong March, passenger demand remained robust throughout April and the growth in traffic once again outpaced the growth in capacity. Demand was boosted by the Easter and Ching Ming holiday at the beginning of the month, particularly out of our home market. Japan, Korea and Thailand were the most popular destinations for Easter getaways from Hong Kong though we also saw high load factors to other Asian destinations and Australia/New Zealand. Demand in the premium cabins was slightly behind expectations, particularly on long-haul routes.”

Commenting on the March results, Cathay Pacific general manager cargo sales & marketing Mark Sutch said: “Our cargo business benefitted from a modest rush in demand out of the home market before Easter and the pick-up after the holiday was reasonably swift. Demand out of the key manufacturing centres in Mainland China fluctuated throughout the month and we faced intense competition out of Western China cities. Transpacific business held up well and we continued to benefit from the logjam of freight in seaports on the West Coast of the United States, even after the industrial dispute was resolved. We saw robust demand out of Southeast Asia, and Vietnam in particular, in April while strong traffic to India remains a key focus.”