Cathay’s October cargo up 4.2%

Cathay’s October cargo up 4.2%    Cathay Pacific carried 108,335 tons of freight in October, up 4.2 percent from the same month last year.
   The airline's cargo volume growth was below a 8.5 percent rise in capacity, resulting in its cargo load factor dropping 1.3 points to 68.6 percent.
   'As expected there was a short lull after the holiday period at the start of the month, but overall demand out of Hong Kong and China remained strong throughout October,' said Ron Mathison, Cathay Pacific's director and general manager cargo. 'More capacity continues to come into the market and competition is getting more intense on important regional routes such as Korea and Japan. However, we are now entering the peak season and we expect demand to remain high.'
   After 10 months, Cathay has moved 980,448 tons of cargo, up 7.4 percent from the same period 2005. The airline's cargo load factor for the year so far has improved 1.5 points to 68.1 percent.