Cathay volume drops again in July

   Cathay Pacific and sister airline Dragonair saw July air freight volume plummet 10.5 percent year-on-year.
   The two airlines carried 125,343 tons of cargo last month, with their combined load factor down by 1.9 percentage points to 64.7 percent. Capacity decreased by 11.4 percent. For the year to date, tonnage has declined 9.9 percent against a capacity drop of 5.4 percent.
   “There was little change in the situation seen in previous months, with continued soft demand out of our two main markets, Hong Kong and mainland China,” Cathay Pacific General Manager Cargo Sales and Marketing James Woodrow said. “We don’t anticipate that situation to change in August, so our strategy will be to continue to pare back capacity in line with demand.
   “Our sixth Boeing 747-8 freighter arrived in July and is helping to boost the operating economics on key long-haul routes. Two more of the aircraft will arrive before the end of 2012,” Woodrow added.