Cathay Pacific and Dragonair have reported combined traffic figures for May 2010 showing significant rises in cargo and mail compared to the same month in 2009. The two airlines carried a total of 158,600 tonnes of cargo and mail last month, up 30 per cent on May last year. The cargo and mail load factor was 79.1 per cent, a rise of 10.9 percentage points, while capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, was up by 19.7 per cent. For the year to date, tonnage has risen by 25.4 per cent compared to a capacity increase of 4.8 per cent.

Cathay Pacific general manager cargo – Mainland China and Hong Kong James Woodrow said: “May is not usually a strong season for air cargo but this year we saw a continuation of the high demand out of key markets seen in the first four months. Demand across the network remained strong and a general shortage of capacity in the industry helped to keep the load factor high. Our own capacity rose due to a number of extra services and charters mounted in response to high demand, together with the return of freighters parked in the desert last year.”