From the Main Deck: On course but for summer instability and ongoing uncertainty
Andress Lam, Head of Cargo Digital
31 Jul 2025

It’s been a turbulent month. Economic uncertainty in global trade was joined by meteorological instability when severe tropical storm Wipha passed Hong Kong. The city was subject to the highest typhoon warning signal on 20 July, and hurricane-force winds closed the airport for most of the day. I’d like to thank our teams for minimising the disruption and quickly restoring our normal level of service for our customers in the hours following this unavoidable pause in operations. 

As for the market, while some trade agreements have been reached, uncertainty remains. Things may become clearer in early August, and we will continue to closely monitor tariff impacts as we plan ahead for the traditional peak. We do see some new opportunities for peak season capacity this year and we will share more on this soon.

For now, there is encouraging demand from Hong Kong, the GBA and the rest of the Chinese Mainland on lanes to the Americas with improvements in some US gateways after changes to customs practices, while we experience the traditional summer dip for demand to Europe. However, in both regions, it is the strength of our network and support from our customers that is lifting our loads.  

Cathay Cargo and the Hong Kong hub on show as TIACA comes to town 

Hong Kong was in the spotlight in June when we hosted the TIACA Executive Summit in the city. It was a great opportunity to showcase our credentials and the advantages our home hub offers air cargo. In addition to host duties, our team took part in some lively panel discussions, including one on digitalisation. It was an honest look at some of the factors that are inhibiting the adoption of a digital standard across stakeholders and jurisdictions. I highlighted IATA’s ONE Record as a viable option. It is mature enough for everyone to implement and it is being updated over time to benefit from new technologies. We are looking into digitalising more processes with the help of AI and exploring use cases and proof of concepts.

READ MORE: Cathay Cargo hosts TIACA Executive Summit in Hong Kong

Cargo Connect app rolls out worldwide

When we talk about digitalisation in the industry, we tend to think about how we interconnect realtime data. On the commercial side, that means using APIs to make capacity available across different distribution channels and, on the operational side, offering shipment visibility to stakeholders – via ONE Record, for example. These are the more tangible benefits of digitalisation, but there are benefits that can streamline our own processes too. We have just finished the roll-out of our Cargo Connect app globally, which brings a variety of data sources, systems and processes together in one hand-held app for our frontline operation teams across the network. It makes their shifts more efficient, eliminating paperwork so that they can focus on delivering the best for our customers. 

READ MORE: Cathay Cargo rolls out Cargo Connect app to frontline teams across the network

Cathay Fresh helps develop the Chinese Mainland’s caviar exports

One of the key selling points of our specialised shipment solutions is that they can be customised according to the shipment’s needs. Our team in the Chinese Mainland has adapted the Cathay Fresh solution to handle shipments of prized Sichuan caviar. Working with shippers and airports, they have created a special “green lane” to keep the cold chain unbroken for caviar exports from Chengdu. The Chinese Mainland is now the world’s biggest exporter of this high-value, luxury food item, and we are grateful shippers have chosen Cathay Fresh and Hong Kong as the global gateway for these bespoke exports.    

READ MORE: How Cathay Cargo ships Sichuan caviar around the world

Air Hong Kong completes fleet modernisation

Our subsidiary carrier partner has bid farewell to its final Airbus A300 freighter as it becomes an A330F carrier. We catch up with Chief Operating Officer Clarence Tai to learn what this means in terms of capacity and sustainability for the new fleet. 

READ MORE: Air Hong Kong completes its fleet modernisation to an Airbus A330F fleet

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