Cathay Cargo will operate five freighter flights per week between Hong Kong and Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles and Mexico from September through the first to third week of December 2026, adding transpacific capacity to carry semiconductor and data-centre equipment shipments during the peak season.

The carrier confirmed the network details after Jonathan Ng, head of cargo hub operations & development at Cathay, announced last month that transpacific freighter capacity would grow ahead of peak but declined to name the destinations.

"Cargo demand has remained positive over the summer, particularly due to growth in semiconductor and data-centre equipment shipments from across Asia to our transpacific markets," Ng said.

Why is Cathay adding capacity now?

Ng framed the move as a supply-demand balancing exercise. "The first priority is getting the balance between demand and capacity right," he said. "We're adding additional freighter capacity to the Americas from this month to meet current demand and support further growth during the peak."

The expansion tracks the strongest demand story in air cargo this year: IATA figures show Asia–North America traffic rose 13.2% year on year in August, the seventh consecutive month of growth on the corridor.

Two forces are driving the lane:

• Surging shipments of data-centre-related equipment out of Asia
• A gradual recovery in e-commerce volumes after the US ended its de minimis exemption for low-value goods in May 2025

China's e-commerce exports to the US initially dipped after the policy change but recovered to stand 23% higher year on year in July 2026, according to consultant Xeneta — albeit from a lowered base.

What about regional capacity?

Cathay is not limiting its peak-season build-up to intercontinental routes. The airline will expand regional freighter capacity with one additional aircraft.

A leased Airbus A330 passenger-to-freighter conversion, completed in Shanghai, will shortly be handed over to Cathay Pacific subsidiary Air Hong Kong to serve regional demand for general cargo in the fourth quarter.

"The leased A330P2F operated by Air Hong Kong is planned to provide additional regional capacity in the fourth quarter, providing us with greater agility to build our regional cargo network and making more options available for our freight forwarder partners," the airline said.

The A330P2F gives Cathay flexibility to adjust its regional network as fourth-quarter demand develops, while the transpacific flights position the carrier to capture technology-driven volumes through the December peak. With seven straight months of Asia–North America growth and e-commerce flows rebuilding, Cathay is betting the capacity arrives with demand already in place rather than ahead of it.