Cathay Pacific Airways (CX) is considering a small capacity increase this year, which it may add to if faced with stronger demand, Reuters reported.
CEO Tony Tyler said he was cautious about the outlook for the aviation sector and pointed to the growing importance of China for Cathay.
"We are planning a small increase in capacity this year and reinstating some of the frequencies that we dropped last year," Tyler said.
"We are looking at low single-digit increase in capacity overall, both on the freight and passenger side. If demand picks up, we will have the ability to add flights."
Asked about a recovery in the airline sector overall, he said: "I'm cautiously optimistic. We saw a recovering trend in the last quarter of 2009 and some of the strength in both the premium passenger market and the cargo market have carried through into the first quarter of this year.
"That gives us rather more comfort than we had last year."
Cargo volume is a leading indicator of global trade, with China a crucial source of air freight for Cathay, Tyler said.
"Most of our cargo revenue is mainland China," he said.
Cargonews Asia
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