Mike King, Special Correspondent | Dec 15, 2011 8:37AM EST
Cargo transported by Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific and sister carrier Dragonair in November dropped 13.8 percent year-over-year, falling for the eighth straight month as a year-end peak failed to materialize.
"November is traditionally the busiest time for our cargo business in the build-up to the Christmas season in the U.S. and Europe, but the peak simply didn’t arrive this year,” said James Woodrow, general manager cargo sales and marketing.
Traffic last month shrank 2.6 percent from October, when cargo transport plummeted 17.6 percent year-over-year.
“Demand out of our key Hong Kong and China markets was soft throughout the month and we reduced capacity accordingly,” Woodrow said.
The carriers’ cargo and mail load factor dropped 6.3 percentage points year-over-year to 65.3 percent last month, while capacity measured in available cargo and tonnage fell by 1.1 percent year-over-year.
“On the positive side, demand within the region remained relatively healthy and our new service to Zaragoza in Spain got off to a good start.”
The carriers have seen traffic drop by 8.2 percent in the first 11 months of the year compared to a year earlier despite capacity rising by 7.2 percent.
-- Contact Mike King at michael@borderline.eu.com