Cathay Pacific carried 115,729 tonnes of cargo in July, an increase it says of 14.9 per cent compared with the same month in 2022.

The month’s cargo revenue tonne kilometres (RFTKs) increased 24.6 per cent year-on-year.

The cargo load factor decreased by 11.2 percentage points to 59.8 per cent, while capacity, measured in available cargo tonne kilometres (AFTKs), increased by 47.9 per cent year-on-year.

In the first seven months of 2023, the airline’s tonnage increased by 22.4 per cent against a 102.5 per cent increase in capacity and a 71.1 per cent increase in RFTKs, as compared with the same period for 2022.

Lavinia Lau, chief customer and commercial officer for Cathay Pacific, said: “While overall cargo demand in July remained at similar levels compared with June, e-commerce traffic continued to be a bright spot holding volumes up.

“Movement of seasonal fresh produce has also been active, contributing to good volume growth under our Cathay Fresh solution. All in all, cargo tonnage in July grew four per cent month-on-month.”

The cargo results for July are somewhat different in comparison to passenger figures, with Cathay Pacific recording a total of 1,744,374 passengers in July, which is an increase of 693.8 per cent compared with the some month in 2022.

Lau added: “On the cargo side, while we expect volumes to remain flat for the rest of the summer period, we anticipate demand will pick up from the end of the third quarter as we enter the traditional peak period for air cargo.

“Overall, we anticipate our cargo business will continue to perform solidly throughout the second half of 2023.”