The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has raised its profit forecast for the aviation industry in 2024, expecting revenue to reach $996 billion, a historic high and a 9.7% increase from the previous year. Zheng Yulin, the Americas region director of China Airlines (CAL), stated that the company has continued to achieve outstanding global revenue in 2024. In the North American market, there is stable growth, with a record number of passengers traveling between North America and Asia, a 5% increase from the same period last year. The average load factor exceeded 80%, indicating a strong performance in passenger transport. On the cargo side, with the steady development of cross-border e-commerce and the ongoing impact of AI-related issues driving demand for cargo space, the cargo revenue performance has been impressive.
Facing the impact of President Trump’s plan to raise tariffs on Chinese imports by 10% upon taking office, as well as the imposition of a 25% tariff on all goods imported into the US from Mexico and Canada, Chi Zhichao, the general manager of CAL’s freight center, responded by stating that CAL has a comprehensive global route layout and will be flexible in scheduling shipments for e-commerce. The fluctuation in tariff impact is expected to be minimal.
This year, CAL’s cargo fleet will complete the deployment of 10 Boeing 777F freighters, optimizing operational efficiency. As the global economy gradually stabilizes, geopolitical risks decrease, and global supply chains are being reconfigured, CAL is optimistic about the growing demand for passenger and cargo transport between the Americas and Asia, particularly in terms of the expected growth in business travel demand.
The cargo network plans to gradually increase flights to 45 per week, focusing on direct flights to major cities on the West Coast such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle, replacing stopovers to enhance operational advantages. In addition, CAL will actively evaluate new cargo routes to further expand its presence in the US cargo market and enhance market competitiveness.
Having been actively developing North American routes for over 54 years since 1970, CAL continues to fly to cities such as Los Angeles, Ontario, San Francisco, New York, and Vancouver in Canada. In July of this year, a direct flight to Seattle was added as a new route. Seattle is one of the top choices for passengers connecting to over 50 cities in the US interior. In recent years, CAL has extended its routes to more cities in Southeast Asia, Japan, and Korea, and continues to optimize routes to provide passengers with more flexibility and convenience in transfers. CAL sees potential in the transfer market, with passenger volumes reaching new highs repeatedly.