Cathay CEO “Confident” Air Sector Will Grow

CEO of Cathay Pacific Airways Rupert Hogg has said he is confident that the air cargo sector will improve after a slow start to 2019.

Mr Hogg said: "We tend to do quite well in cargo but the volumes do go up and down due to general economic sentiment.

"I'm relatively confident that cargo will get stronger in second half this year."

The Hong Kong-based airline is one of the world's largest cargo carriers and has previously said it was keeping a close eye on U.S.-China trade tensions, which could have impacted present figures.

IATA Lays Out 3 Priorities for Global Air Cargo

The burgeoning field of e-commerce looks set to provide some relief in later 2019.

Cathay Pacific has publicly stated that its cargo volumes fell by 5.5% in the three months ended March 31, but that the decline was smaller in March than in January and February.

The International Air Transport Association last month nearly halved its annual forecast for traffic growth in the air cargo market to 2%, citing trade frictions, Brexit and anti-globalization rhetoric.

Read more: WorldACD - Global Volumes Down