Watch Now


Cathay Pacific limps through Q1 with 20% cargo capacity

Shipment volumes plunge in January, cash burn rises as Hong Kong COVID rules bite

Cathay Pacific operates a large fleet of Boeing 747 freighters. (Photo: Flickr/Alan Wilson CC BY 2.0)

Cathay Pacific carried fewer than 25,000 passengers in January, a 99.2% decline from three years ago, and cargo capacity is down to 21% of pre-COVID levels, according to monthly traffic figures released Thursday that illustrate the devastating impact of Hong Kong’s restrictive reaction to the omicron variant. 

With its large freighter fleet and extensive long-haul passenger network, Cathay has traditionally been one of the crown jewels in air cargo. It was the third-largest carrier by amount of cargo carried as recently as 2020. Now it is a shell of its former self.

Last month’s cargo volume of 81,837 tons was 51.5% less than in January 2019 and down 31.8% from the prior year. Revenue ton kilometers — a measure of cargo carried on each sector multiplied by distance traveled — decreased 64.4% year-over-year and 73.6% from 2019. Cargo capacity fell 69% from December. 

As part of the government’s sweeping effort to eradicate COVID outbreaks, Hong Kong health authorities in early January increased the quarantine period from three to seven days for locally domiciled crews returning from international trips. The order reduced the number of available pilots, forcing Cathay Pacific to suspend a huge amount of long-haul cargo operations through March and causing substantial disruption for cargo customers. 


The airline was only able to mount limited freighter flights to the Americas, while the shipment of goods to Europe, the Middle East and Southwest Pacific was provided by passenger aircraft carrying only cargo.  The company has 20 Boeing 747 cargo jets in its fleet.

Cathay has been able to protect its regional freighter services, which allowed “added focus on opportunities in the Chinese mainland and the region. This resulted in increased cargo capacity for services to destinations in Northeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent where there was good demand prior to the Lunar New Year holidays,” Chief Commercial Officer Ronald Lam said in a statement.

Cathay’s cargo numbers are likely to sink further in February because of reduced shipment levels in the first half of the month associated with factory slowdowns because of the Chinese holiday period

Lam said freighter activity will be similar to that of January, although the airline has been able to restore some freighter frequencies to the Southwest Pacific. Overall, cargo flight capacity is likely to remain less than a third of pre-COVID levels during the first quarter — a slight improvement from January.


The rules handcuffing Cathay’s operations are heavily penalizing the airline at a time when cargo demand is booming and expected to remain strong throughout the year. In 2021, air cargo volume grew 7% and cargo margins soared for most airlines because of the supply shortage caused by reduced passenger flying. The situation is also frustrating for shippers who are scrambling for transport options in the face of ocean shipping bottlenecks, the ramp-up in Chinese manufacturing after the holiday period and persistent inventory shortfalls.

COVID has complicated Cathay Cargo’s operations on many levels, including the management of contactless aircrew transfers and disinfection regimens in aircraft and warehouses. 

Cathay Pacific lost between $719 million and $783 million last year, a big improvement from 2020 when it was $2.8 billion in the red, according to preliminary results released last month. As at many airlines, strong cargo demand and high yields helped cushion the blow of pandemic-induced reductions in passenger business.

The airline carried more than 1.4 million tons of cargo last year, about the same as in 2020 but a third less than in 2019. Last year, it operated almost 8,000 cargo-only passenger flights, many with its six Boeing 777 jets reconfigured to accommodate cargo in the passenger cabin. Besides traditional commodities, it carried more than 120 million doses of COVID vaccines around the world. 

Cathay Pacific officials have said they expect to burn between $128 million and $192 million per month while the quarantine-based capacity cuts remain in place. 

Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.

RELATED NEWS:

Cathay Pacific restarts limited cargo service after COVID pause


2 Comments

  1. sogike2310

    𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙍𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙉𝙤𝙬! 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙁𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙊𝙛 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙃𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙁𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙋𝙖𝙮𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙘𝙠 𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣 𝘼 𝙒𝙚𝙚𝙠. 𝙉𝙤 𝙀𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙉𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙚𝙙, 𝙉𝙤 𝘽𝙤𝙨𝙨 𝙊𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙧. vcs… 𝙎𝙖𝙮 𝙂𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙗𝙮𝙚 𝙏𝙤 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙊𝙡𝙙 𝙅𝙤𝙗! 𝙇𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙉𝙪𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙊𝙛 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙨 𝙊𝙥𝙚𝙣…
    𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙃𝙀𝙍𝙀…..> 𝐰𝐰𝐰.𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐲𝐛𝐚𝐚𝐫.𝐜𝐨𝐦

  2. ConnieAdkins

    𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙍𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙉𝙤𝙬! 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙁𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙊𝙛 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙃𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙁𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙋𝙖𝙮𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙘𝙠 𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣 𝘼 𝙒𝙚𝙚𝙠. 𝙉𝙤 𝙀𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙉𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙚𝙙, 𝙉𝙤 𝘽𝙤𝙨𝙨 𝙊𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙧. vcs… 𝙎𝙖𝙮 𝙂𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙗𝙮𝙚 𝙏𝙤 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙊𝙡𝙙 𝙅𝙤𝙗! 𝙇𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙉𝙪𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙊𝙛 𝙎𝙥𝙤𝙩𝙨 𝙊𝙥𝙚𝙣…
    𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙃𝙀𝙍𝙀…..> http://Www.NETCASH1.Com

Comments are closed.

Eric Kulisch

Eric is the Supply Chain and Air Cargo Editor at FreightWaves. An award-winning business journalist with extensive experience covering the logistics sector, Eric spent nearly two years as the Washington, D.C., correspondent for Automotive News, where he focused on regulatory and policy issues surrounding autonomous vehicles, mobility, fuel economy and safety. He has won two regional Gold Medals and a Silver Medal from the American Society of Business Publication Editors for government and trade coverage, and news analysis. He was voted best for feature writing and commentary in the Trade/Newsletter category by the D.C. Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He won Environmental Journalist of the Year from the Seahorse Freight Association in 2014 and was the group's 2013 Supply Chain Journalist of the Year. In December 2022, he was voted runner up for Air Cargo Journalist by the Seahorse Freight Association. As associate editor at American Shipper Magazine for more than a decade, he wrote about trade, freight transportation and supply chains. Eric is based in Portland, Oregon. He can be reached for comments and tips at [email protected]