Asian air cargo overview: different profiles for major freight airlines, but united in weak outlook

Air freight is critical to Asia's major airlines but with regional nuances. The North America market is critical for Korean Air; the region accounts for 42% of AFTKs compared to a smaller 27% at Cathay Pacific. For Singapore Airlines, Australia-Pacific is larger. China and Japan are large countries for Korean Air based on payload capacity while for Cathay Pacific large markets include India and the UAE, according to CAPA's new Freight Schedule Analysis tool.

For all of the market's differences, there are commonalities in freight's under-performance. New passenger flights challenge freight load factors, which are the highest in Asia-Pacific but still barely exceed 50%.

Additional passenger flights, all with substantial belly capacity, stunt all-freight improvements. Asia's major airlines have 28 parked freighter aircraft, mostly 747s. The mood is further dampened with 5.2% FTK growth in Asia-Pacific, possibly set to slow as China and Asia's emerging markets see reduced output.