Cathay Cargo is making it even easier for the world’s biggest freight forwarders to check available space, make bookings and secure instant confirmation from its inventory with the launch of a new developer portal.
This time Hong Kong’s flag carrier has opened a new application programming interface (API) for German forwarder DB Schenker, which links Cathay’s Click & Ship booking platform to its own in-house system.
Asok Kumar, Executive Vice President Global Air Freight at DB Schenker, said the direct API connectivity built into the forwarder’s transport management system has been very helpful for its operations and procurement teams worldwide, who can access needed information round the clock through their own platforms.
This new portal enables forwarders’ developer teams to learn more about Cathay Cargo’s API connections, carry out testing and get a better understanding of the technical requirements before committing to actual development work, simplifying the process of inventory checking and booking.
“Having quick access to spot pricing from our air carrier partners is a critical enabler that allows us to respond to our customers’ need for competitive rates within short turnaround times,” Kumar noted.
The API connection and the new developer portal were powered by Global Logistics System (HK) Company Limited, which also designed the Click & Ship booking platform. The latest development is part of Cathay digitalisation programme, which saw the API integration of the airline’s booking platform on Kuehne+Nagel and DHL Global Forwarding’ systems in January.
In the same month, the airline carried 114,790 tonnes of cargo, up 20.7 percent year on year, with cargo revenue tonne kilometres growing 11.4 percent compared to the same period last year. The cargo load factor slid 3.6 percentage points to 58.6 percent, as capacity, measured in available cargo tonne kilometres, jumped 18.3 percent year on year.
“Demand for air cargo traditionally softens in January after the year-end peak period and our tonnage was down 11% compared with December 2023,” noted Lavinia Lau, chief customer and commercial officer.
“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.
In March, Cathay Cargo will be the host airline at IATA’s World Cargo Symposium 2024 on 12 to 14 March. This is the first time that Hong Kong will host the major annual IATA event, which gathers experts and leaders from across the air cargo and logistics industry.
