“In terms of the yield outlook, we’re still hopeful that the second half of the year … will be more robust than the first half of the year,” he explained.
The airline relied on its profitable cargo division for most of its revenue during the Covid-19 pandemic after its passenger business was hammered by health restrictions.
Cathay’s passenger capacity is expected to return to 70 per cent of 2019 levels by the end of the year, but its cargo capacity is expected to hit 85 per cent.
Owen was speaking as the airline unveiled its first freight aircraft to carry the new Cathay Cargo livery.
The event was attended by airport officials, Cathay CEO Ronald Lam Siu-por and Secretary for Transport and Logistics, Lam Sai-hung.
“Capacity building will be critical for the continual development of air cargo business in Hong Kong, especially in face of land shortage,” Lam said.
He highlighted the third runway, scheduled to be completed in 2024, as well as the planned logistics park in Dongguan, in mainland China’s Guangdong province.
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Hong Kong’s airport is the world’s busiest for cargo and handled about 4.2 million tonnes (4.6 million tons) of freight and airmail in 2022.Cathay announced in February it was to rebrand its 77-year-old cargo service, changing the name from Cathay Pacific Cargo to Cathay Cargo.
The airline said the change was in line with its overall redesign and would connect to its master Cathay brand – a premium travel lifestyle offering with a range of products and services.
The airport handled 13.2 million passengers in the first five months of the year, an increase of more than 23 times over the same period in 2022.
But cargo traffic in May dropped 4 per cent to 350,000 tonnes compared with the same month last year.
The Airport Authority said that the volume “continued to be impacted by global economic uncertainties”.
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It added imports decreased by 30 per cent compared to the same month last year.
“Traffic to and from Southeast Asia, Taiwan, and Japan saw the most significant decreases during the month,” the authority said.
Owen told the Post that the airline was boosting its passenger capacity to the places mentioned by the authority and expected “good growth going forward.”
Hong Kong’s hometown airline also has a fleet of about 20 freight aircraft, which fly to more than 40 destinations.
Cathay’s cargo service also uses space in the group’s passenger aircraft.
