Cathay Pacific Cargo strikes an optimistic note despite weak start to 2019

Cathay Pacific Cargo remains optimistic about its cargo business, despite registering declines in its cargo revenues and volumes during the first two months of the year.

The carrier group saw cargo traffic decline by 9.3% in February following on from a 5.2% slide in January.

However, general manager cargo commercial Nelson Chin pointed out that 2018 was a particularly strong year making for a difficult comparison.

Chin also the overall airline group returning to profit last year after losses in 2017 and 2016.

Also, IATA still expects cargo demand to improve by 2% and the airline’s cargo business is investing in its pharma and perishable businesses.

“There are some possible global economic headwinds but also some grounds for cautious optimism. IATA’s forecast for air cargo growth remains positive at 2% for 2019, and there is projected growth in e-commerce and products that require special handling.

“Following the trial of the pharma corridor between Brussels and Hong Kong, we have become full members of Pharma.Aero. Our home base and Cathay Pacific Cargo Terminal have also received CEIV Fresh accreditation for handling perishables – and our own, more stringent airline accreditation will follow shortly.

“We continue on  our objective to become a leader in digitised air cargo processes, along with our investments in products and services that meet the exacting demands of today’s high-value cargo customers.”