Hong Kong Dragon Airlines (Dragonair) expects its cargo division to produce impressive growth this year through a change of strategy.
The carrier is planning to switch more routes from charter to scheduled services to take advantage of bigger cargo opportunities.
This had accounted for a nine per cent growth in cargo revenues last year, according to chief executive officer Stanley Hui, in an interview published in Dragonews, the airline's in-house publication.
Last year, the carrier reported an 11 per cent rise in cargo volume over the previous year. It handled 43,577 tonnes of cargo last year compared to the 39,274 tonnes loaded and unloaded in 1997.
Dragonair's cargo arm now accounts for 10 per cent of total revenues.
The carrier, which is targeting the potentially lucrative mainland market, expects double-digit cargo growth in the next few years by switching to scheduled services.
Previously, the airline only managed to register five to six per cent cargo growth.