July 2019 airfreight demand: summer slump persists

• Charles Kauffman
• August 22, 2019
• Capacity & Demand, Carriers, Features

As airports and carriers begin to report their July 2019 cargo traffic results, airfreight demand – unsurprisingly – continues to respond negatively to increasing trade friction on the trans-Pacific trade lane, and elsewhere. Carriers from all regions almost unanimously reported moderate year-over-year declines. There is little change from June 2019, for which IATA reported a […]

CAAC warning could impact Cathay Pacific’s cargo ops

• Jeff Lee
• August 9, 2019
• Aircraft, All Posts, Carriers, Features, News

HONG KONG – The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has just issued what it called a “severe safety warning” to Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific in response to what it perceived as “safety risks recently exposed” by the airline. If enforced, the warning could impact not only flights connecting mainland China, but potentially Cathay flights passing through […]

Cathay freighters to carry lithium batteries again

• Jeff Lee
• August 1, 2019
• Aircraft, All Posts, Capacity & Demand, Carriers, Features, News, Strategy

Standalone lithium-ion batteries can once again be carried by Cathay Pacific Cargo on its freighter aircraft, after the carrier developed and introduced a fire-containment bag. Shipments of standalone lithium-ion batteries are a significant driver of freighter traffic, especially given the growth of e-commerce and personal electronic devices. Under a provision adopted by the ICAO Council […]

Steep declines follow May uptick in June first look

• Charles Kauffman and Caryn Livingston
• July 22, 2019
• Capacity & Demand, Carriers, Features

As airports and carriers begin to report June 2019 cargo results, the picture of generally sluggish demand remains unchanged from the previous months. Despite the return to growth of a few Asia Pacific-based carriers during May 2019, almost unanimously, carriers and airports based in the region reported lower traffic in June 2019 compared to the […]

Air Hong Kong to bring ASL-operated A330Fs under own AOC

• Jeff Lee
• July 4, 2019
• Aircraft, All Posts, Carriers, Conversions, Features, News, Production Freighters, Strategy, Widebody Conversions

Wholly owned Cathay Pacific-subsidiary Air Hong Kong (AHK) will soon be operating at least two A330 freighters under its own AOC, the carrier told Cargo Facts. While the carrier currently operates ten A300-600Fs, it had previously contracted ASL Airlines Ireland to operate a small fleet of A330Fs on an ACMI basis. The first aircraft, an […]

European, Middle Eastern carriers see growth return in May first look

• Brianne Ledda
• June 25, 2019
• All Posts, Capacity & Demand, Carriers

After a particularly weak April for air cargo traffic, carriers based in Europe and the Middle East saw growth return in our first look at May results. Among those carriers based outside Europe and the Middle East, only China Southern Airlines reported a year-over-year increase for May traffic, of 1.1%. Turkish Cargo reported the strongest […]

Cathay Pacific signs 747-400ERF engine maintenance deal

• Caryn Livingston
• May 30, 2019
• Carriers

In a sign that the Hong Kong-based carrier intends to continue operating its fleet of six 747-400ERF for at least a few more years, Cathay Pacific and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Aero Engines, Ltd. (MHIAEL) signed a five-year contract under which MHIAEL will provide engine MRO services for Cathay’s 747-400ERFs. The engines covered under the exclusive […]

A handful of carriers see traffic growth return in March

• Caryn Livingston
• April 23, 2019
• All Posts, Capacity & Demand, Carriers

After a dismal February for Asia-Pacific carriers, March cargo traffic results are painting a more positive picture, with China Southern Airlines and Air China, in particular, seeing cargo traffic growth from 2018 levels of at least a few percent. Among those Asian carriers still reporting declines for the month, in all cases, March declines were […]