HONG KONG's Cathay Pacific, the world's largest air cargo carrier, has announced its cargo volume fell 10.1 per cent in September to 131,443 tonnes year on year, the sixth consecutive monthly decline.

    Figures include the performance of its unit Dragonair. Together their cargo and mail load factor was down five percentage points to 64.8 per cent. Capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, was down 0.8 per cent, while cargo and mail tonne kilometres flown were down 7.9 per cent. Year to date, tonnage dropped 6.4 per cent compared to a capacity increase of 9.8 per cent.

    Said Cathay cargo chief James Woodrow: "On the cargo side there was no significant change from the situation, with the key Hong Kong and China markets both remaining soft and demand to long-haul destinations, particularly Europe, below expectations.

    "There is no sign yet of the traditional year-end peak beginning. On the positive side, intra-Asia traffic is holding up well and flights from most destinations into Hong Kong have been relatively full. We have recently launched freighter services to Chongqing and Chengdu to boost our presence in the growing Western China market," Mr Woodrow said.

     The passenger outlook has also become more uncertain. Cathay and Dragonair carried 2,255,605 passengers last month - up 3.5 per cent on the same month last year - while the passenger load factor fell 2.1 percentage points to 79.7 per cent.

     On the passenger side, Cathay revenue chief James Tong said: "The outlook is more uncertain as companies review travel policies in light of the economic situation. In September we saw a falloff in demand in the back end, as expected after the summer peak. The Japan route continued to see a recovery, though China was down compared to last year due to the Shanghai Expo effect in 2010. Premium business held up well in September in terms of volume and yield."

(source:http://www.shippingonline.cn/news/newsList.asp?classname=News)