It’s late summer in the northern hemisphere and it’s an important period where we as a business look forward to what is to come and back at our performance in the interim or half-year results. There is good news from both directions.

As an airline group, we are on track to return to pre-pandemic flight levels within the first quarter of next year, by which time the Three-Runway System at Hong Kong International Airport will be up and running, which will enable Cathay and the Hong Kong international aviation hub to continue to grow together. As part of that, there was a commitment from the Cathay Group to invest over HK$100 billion to further elevate the customer experience and strengthen the hub, and that will include 30 Airbus A330-900 aircraft to join the existing order pipeline of Boeing 777-9X aircraft and the next-generation A350Fs for Cathay Cargo.

The Group has also fully repaid the Hong Kong SAR Government’s preference shares, disbursed more than HK$2.44 billion in preference share dividends, as well as announced a first interim dividend payment to ordinary shareholders. We are grateful to the Hong Kong SAR Government and our shareholders for the support – and that of our customers, of course. We are also honoured to be shortlisted as one of the Cargo Airline of the Year award finalists at this year’s Air Cargo News Awards, while Cathay Cargo Terminal is shortlisted for the Air Cargo Environment Award.

There seems little doubt now that we will be heading towards a very busy end of year, and that follows on from a summer that did not let up, with demand continuing to be fuelled predominantly by e-commerce. We recently received our first e-commerce charter operated by Air Hong Kong this month, using an A330P2F to Sydney, which registered a number of firsts. It was Air Hong Kong’s first trip to Sydney, its longest charter for Cathay Cargo, and the first time it has received pre-screened and built-up cargo shipped by sea from the Cathay Cargo Terminal in Dongguan.

While e-commerce makes up the bulk of cargo we receive in the South West Pacific region, what we fill the bellies with for the return trip to Hong Kong bucks another trend and reflects an appreciation for our produce. More than 80 per cent of our shipments use the Cathay Cargo special solutions against a global average of 35 per cent or so. This is most clearly seen through the employment of Cathay Fresh for our shipments of seasonal fruits, live seafood and chilled meat. However, there is one lightweight but costly product among that, which is the Australian black truffle, a relatively new export that offers all the flavour and aroma of the famed Périgord truffle to restaurants when out of season in Europe. As you can read, it’s a niche product that wholly depends on airfreight for its existence. We will be showcasing the Cathay Fresh solution at the Asia Fruit Logistica trade show in Hong Kong from 4-6 September on our stand. We look forward to seeing you there.

Another solution that sees a great deal of use in our region is Cathay Expert, whether that’s cars coming for punishing tests in the outback, oil or mining equipment, or components for the aviation industry. After its recent refresh we look at some of our outsized, super-heavy or ultra-fragile shipments which Cathay Expert really delivers for our customers.

One of those customers is Asok Kumar, Global Head of Airfreight at DB Schenker. We speak to him to find out what makes him tick and what he thinks about the peak – spoiler alert, he thinks it will be a busy end to the year too. He also talks about his company’s commitment to sustainability, which was recently demonstrated by DB Schenker becoming the biggest contributing member of the Cathay Corporate Sustainable Aviation Fuel Programme. With sustainability, as with everything else in air cargo, he also points to partnership as the way ahead.

We look forward to working together with all our partners as we get ready for a busy final quarter.