Fishing vessels take part in a cruise held by the Hong Kong Fishermen Consortium to celebrate the 27th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland at Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong, south China, July 1, 2024.(Photo: Xinhua)

The future of air cargo business is tethered to the Chinese mainland as the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) in South China has been regarded as a key growth region in the coming years, and the GBA's growing wealth and efficient supply chains will continue to be a major strength, according to Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific Airways.

The airlines said that they are trying to connect air cargo from the Chinese mainland to the outside world through Hong Kong.

The remarks were made as the group's cargo business is experiencing a rapid recovery after the pandemic, and the group is building on freight facilities in Dongguan, South China's Guangdong Province, highlighting the importance of the region as the group has vowed to deep its root in the GBA.

Currently, about 50 percent of Cathay Pacific's revenue comes from the GBA, which has been growing in recent years. "Although we aim to balance our network, the GBA's importance cannot be underestimated. We will continue to invest in aircraft, trucks, terminals, and talent reserve," said Tom Owen, Cathay Director Cargo. 

"We have significant plans to continue recruiting cabin crew, pilots, and ground staff from the GBA to work for Cathay. We are very much a part of the GBA as Hong Kong. We expect that the closeness and integration between the GBA and Hong Kong will continue to improve," he added. 

The Cathay Cargo, which now has a fleet of 20 Boeing B747 freighters, plus belly-hold cargo capacity on 190 passenger aircraft, has been increasing its capacity in recent months, as it has announced the addition of six new A350F from Airbus, and also purchased rights for 20 additional ones. These freighters will primarily be used on long-haul routes, connecting the Chinese mainland via Hong Kong to the US, Europe, and Australia.

"Our overall cargo operations currently had recovered to 85 percent of the pre-pandemic level, and the group expects to recover 100 percent of the passenger flights by the first quarter of 2025," said Owen.

He said that the cargo business this year has grown fast, and during the first five months the year, they achieved about 11-percent capacity growth, and the primary driver of the current growth is e-commerce from GBA and also from eastern China. 

Official data showed that the total economic output in GBA region exceeded 14 trillion yuan ($1.97 trillion) in 2023.

In recent days, Hong Kong celebrated the 27 years since its return to the motherland, as the city continues to enhance international competitiveness, and consolidate its international shipping and financial hub position.

Zheng Yanxiong, director of the Liaison Office of the Central Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said that with the country's strong backing, Hong Kong can achieve better development by integrating into the overall national development, reported Xinhua News Agency on Saturday. 

Hong Kong will continue to enhance its international competitiveness, consolidate and enhance its position in eight key areas, maintain a free, open and standardized business environment, expand smooth and convenient international connections, and further consolidate and give full play to its unique status and advantages, Zheng said.

Owen said that the company is optimistic about the Chinese mainland economy and also about Cathay Cargo's role.

In his view, thanks to the purchasing power of GBA and booming e-commerce, the air cargo growth has been robust, and they have been improving transit facilities, increasing the number of trucks, and streamlining processes to facilitate smoother operations between Hong Kong and the GBA.

"Over the next decade, the GBA will be a significant growth story for air cargo, both for exports and imports," he said. 

Although there are ups and downs in the cycle and right now it might not be booming as in the past, China is still growing at a very strong rate compared to the rest of the world. There is also a lot of opportunity for future growth as many parts of China continue to develop and get stronger. "So, we are optimistic for air cargo", he said. 

"Our future is tied to Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland, and we're committed to growing hand in hand," he added.