Cathay Pacific anticipates fierce cargo competition this summer

Over the summer, Cathay Pacific anticipates a more competitive air cargo market and will increase the number of freighter flights it operates to North America. Lavinia Lau, the company's chief customer and commercial officer, announced that additional freighter flights to Toronto and Miami would be added over the summer. She noted that while the summer months are typically slower, no significant increase in demand is anticipated until the third quarter's end. "As overall cargo demand falls short of supply, we also expect increasingly fierce competition. "We will continue to identify new demand as we rebuild our capacity through the growth of the widebody passenger network and adjust the timetables of our freighters as necessary. "As a result, Toronto and Miami will have more freighter capacity." As it begins to resume passenger and cargo operations after lockdowns in Hong Kong last year, the carrier reports improvements in cargo volumes. The airline did issue a warning, noting that the overall cargo market was still flat and that cargo traffic was outpacing the market's capacity growth. According to Lau, the market volume was basically unchanged in May. "High inventory levels contributed to the persistent underperformance of high-tech demand and new consumer goods shipments. However, the e-commerce sector remained largely active, and as passenger services returned, aircraft engine volumes increased in the special solution segment. As a result of capacity expansion, the carrier saw cargo tonne kilometres in May rise 73.4% year over year to 654 million.

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