Cathay Pacific Cargo is considering moving into the express services sector this year, according to an industry magazine report.
The report quoted Cathay's general manager, cargo, James Barrington, as saying: 'We will look at express handling because it is a segment of the market that grows faster than the traditional business and seems to be a bit insulated from the economic ups and downs.' Cathay Cargo is planning to set up its own express-handling unit at Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals to enable it can deal with the express business itself and offer an express product to customers.
Mr Barrington said the airline's express product would be a 'second string' to those offered by integrators such as UPS, FedEx, TNT and DHL.
Many smaller express companies were keen to use the Cathay express unit to ship smaller volumes.
'We're not going to compete with the big integrators, but there's a market out there that's growing,' Mr Barrington said.
Battered by the air cargo crisis during the opening of Chek Lap Kok airport last year, Cathay Pacific's cargo services saw turnover drop 9.5 per cent to $7.04 billion last year.
