It’s been a big year for Cathay Cargo and for Hong Kong. While the peak period is starting to ease, we are continuing to see healthy demand from customers, which bodes well as we look to the new year. Some in the industry have commented that there has not been much of a peak this year. There may not have been the mega-peak that many were anticipating, but it has been very busy for us and I see every reason to believe that Hong Kong will retain its status as the world’s busiest international air cargo hub in 2024. A lot of that has to do with our ideal location at the heart of the Greater Bay Area, a region responsible for much of the e-commerce that has been the major story of the year. We remain confident that e-commerce will continue to be a major driver of growth in the years ahead. You can read my thoughts about the rest of the past year here.

While e-commerce has dominated the news and our capacity, I’m pleased that we have also seen tonnage increases in our specialist shipment solutions, two more of which we refreshed this year. Cathay Expert came to the fore this month with our attendance at the SEMICON Japan show. We were there to promote Cathay Expert, and the additional care we use while shipping the big but fragile stepper machines that create the ever-more microscopically detailed semiconductor wafers, which will power the next generation of AI computation in our laptops and mobile devices. 

Meanwhile, our Cathay Pharma solution, IATA CEIV Pharma-certified team and our next-generation Ultra Track data loggers were used in successful trial flights between our home hub and Miami, working with the Airport Authority Hong Kong to Pharma.Aero protocols. As a result, we now have a second Pharma.Aero corridor that is served by our six-times-weekly freighter service. Next summer, Cathay Pacific will resume passenger flights to Brussels – the first Pharma.Aero corridor – along with Munich, which makes its debut on the passenger network. 

We’re looking forward to adding these new lanes to our Cathay Cargo network. With the Three Runway System at Hong Kong International Airport now up and running, and Cathay Pacific’s imminent return to full pre-pandemic frequencies, it has been an exciting year. As ever, I’m grateful for the support of all our customers and partners who motivate us to make sure we stand up to our motto that “We Know How”. Thank you. 

I would also like to extend my thanks to Chris Bowden, Head of Cargo Global Partnerships, who will be moving on in March to a new and exciting role at HAECO. Siddhant Iyer, our current Head of Cargo Markets & Customer Solutions, will move across to take Chris’s role, and his past experience as Regional Head of Cargo for South East Asia will hold him in good stead. He will look after both roles until his replacement is onboard. 

For now, I wish you the very warmest of season’s greetings and I look forward to bigger and better things in the new year.