Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair in March 2014 recorded a double-digit increase in cargo and mail tonnage, according to Shipping Gazette.
Passenger numbers rose compared to the same month last year, but failed to keep pace with the capacity increase, a company statement said.
The two airlines carried 155,352 tonnes of cargo and mail in March, an increase of 13.8 per cent year on year.
The cargo and mail load factor rose 0.3 percentage points to 66.7 per cent. Capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, was up 18.8 per cent while cargo and mail revenue tonne kilometres flown grew 19.3 per cent.
In the first quarter, tonnage rose 3.9 per cent against a capacity increase of 9.2 per cent.
Said Cathay cargo sales chief Mark Sutch: "After a poor start to the year in January and February, our cargo business benefited from a significant upsurge in traffic last month.
"There was a strong pick-up in demand out of both Hong Kong and mainland China and we were able to operate close to a full freighter schedule for much of the month along with a number of extra sectors.
"There was strong demand to and from the US and we launched another destination, Columbus, Ohio, during the month. Our recently launched services to Guadalajara and Mexico City also saw healthy loads."
Combined the airlines carried a total of 2,600,590 passengers in March, up two per cent. The load factor declined 1.1 percentage points to 82.3 per cent, while capacity, measured in available seat kilometres (ASKs), rose 5.7 per cent.
In the first quarter, passenger volume grew 4.3 per cent compared to a four per cent increase in capacity.
Said Cathay revenue chief James Tong: "We saw a significant increase in capacity in March with new services beginning to Newark and Doha.
The number of passengers we carried saw a year-on-year increase but the picture was distorted by the Easter peak beginning in March in 2013."
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