Cathay bullish over China prospects

DESPITE recent turbulence Cathay Pacific Cargo says it is positioning itself to capitalise on China’s recovering exports.

Undoubtedly 2009 was a difficult year for Cathay and Hong Kong. The carrier will only talk in broad brushstroke terms. It points out that whilst there was a 20 per cent slump in the first half of last year, demand picked up in the second half of the year and the final numbers showed a -7 per cent fall in tonnage throughput at Hong Kong International Airport compared to 2008.

Last month Cathay and its sister carrier Dragonair, carried a total of 144,000 tonnes of cargo and mail, up 25 per cent on the same month in 2008 when the cargo crisis was at its height. The cargo and mail load factor rose by 15.7 per cent to 78.6 per cent, while capacity for the month was 3.3 per cent down.

“Off this huge base the final numbers look much better than any of us predicted in January a year ago,” said Rupert Hogg, Cathay Pacific’s Director Cargo.

Going forward Cathay says it will increasingly benefit from its proximity to and connections with China.(source AirCargoNews)

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