Cathay Pacific hoping passengers replace cargo for Christmas
December 5, 2011
Cathay Pacific is hoping passenger traffic will make up for an 18% plunge in air cargo volumes in the run-up to Christmas.
“Somebody cancelled Christmas, as really the cargo volume hasn’t been there,” CEO John Slosar told reporters.
And demand will continue to be “soft” into the first few months of next year, he added.
The picture for Asia’s busiest carrier is a different story to 2010, when freight volumes surged as US and European retailers rushed to rebuild inventories following the end of the global recession.
Slosar is hoping an increase in passengers travelling over the holiday will compensate.
“The Christmas season is looking quite ok,” he said, “all flights are very busy.”
The carrier, based in Hong Kong, saw passenger numbers in October 3.8% up on a year earlier, as economic growth in China and the rest of Asia spurs demand for business and leisure travel.
That helped the carrier withstand an 18% plunge in cargo tonnage caused by the US and European retailers ordering fewer goods for this year’s holiday shopping season.
The carrier, which gets about one-third of its sales from cargo, will boost freight capacity as much as 20% next year, when it takes delivery of new B747-8 freighters following production delays.
Courtesy of IFW
