Cathay, Dragonair cargo up in June

Cathay, Dragonair cargo up in June Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific and its wholly owned subsidiary Dragonair carried a combined 129,169 tons of freight in June, a 1.3 percent rise compared to the same month in 2006.
   The two airlines’ monthly cargo load factor fell 3.4 percentage points year-on-year to 67 percent while capacity, measured in available cargo and mail ton kilometers, rose 7.8 percent.
   For the first half of the year, the airlines flew 757,575 tons of goods, down 0.4 percent. The cargo load factor for the six-month period fell 3.1 percentage points to 65.3 percent with capacity up 4.6 percent.
   “Demand remains high out of Mainland China and loads on our long-haul flights to North America and Europe have been satisfactory,” said Ron Mathison, Cathay Pacific’s director and general manager cargo. “The continued influx of capacity into the region has been keeping down freight rates, while competition from marine cargo is having an impact, particularly on North Asian routes. However, we remain confident about the long-term prospects for airfreight in the region and expect to see some pickup soon.”
   Cathay Pacific is expected by fall to double its daily nonstop flights each to New York and San Francisco to two. The airline also operates one flight a day to New York via Vancouver, as well as three daily services to Los Angeles.