Cargo

Iberia Cargo achieves IATA "Cargo 2000" certification

Iberia Cargo has joined IATA’s exclusive Cargo 2000 group with another 60 companies, including leading airlines, multinational freight agencies, handling operators, other transport companies and IT providers to the freight industry.

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American Airlines Cargo tops JFK cargo carrier ranking

American Airlines Cargo (AA Cargo) has topped the list of cargo carriers by tonnage at New York‘s JFK International Airport, according to data provided by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

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Evergreen add second 747-400 Boeing Converted Freighter to fleet

Boeing and Evergreen International Airlines, a subsidiary of Evergreen International Aviation, today announced the airline will introduce the 747-400 Boeing Converted Freighter to its fleet with delivery to Evergreen in 2012. Read more

Dubai Airport expansion plans to cost $7.8 billion

Dubai Airport has today announced that His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, (Vice-President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates) has endorsed its US$7.8 billion (28.8 billion AED) airport and airspace expansion programme which will boost capacity at Dubai International  Airport from 60 million to 90 million passengers per year by 2018. Read more

Dubai International Airport forecast to become busiest by 2015

Dubai Airports today announced its ten year traffic forecast for Dubai International (DXB) and Dubai World Central-Al Maktoum International (DWC) that projects international passenger and cargo traffic will increase at an average annual growth rate of 7.2% and 6.7% respectively, outperforming industry projections for average annual growth of 5% globally.* By 2020 passenger numbers will reach 98.5 million and cargo volumes will top 4.1 million tonnes. Read more

Etihad delivery of first Airbus A330-200 Freighter marks record month

Etihad Airways has taken delivery of its first Airbus A330-200 freighter aircraft.

Etihad is the launch customer for the freighter which made its maiden flight from Airbus in Toulouse to the airline’s base in Abu Dhabi on Monday evening, 9th August.

The freighter will boost the airline’s expanding fleet of cargo aircraft and arrives at a time when cargo volumes are at their highest for Etihad.

Etihad Crystal Cargo carried a record tonnage in July of more than 23,000 tonnes. More than 30,000 shipments were carried during the month, driven by increased volumes from Pakistan, Australia, China and Bangladesh. The United Arab Emirates was the top cargo destination.

In the year to date Etihad Crystal Cargo has experienced a 21 per cent growth in tonnage and a 30 per cent growth in yield. Overall cargo revenue has grown by 57 per cent since this time last year.

James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ Chief Executive Officer, said: “The arrival of our new A330-200 freighter marks a new era in Etihad’s cargo services and will support Etihad’s goal to expand that side of the business further.”

“The aircraft will bring us more payloads, at a reduced operating cost, and will offer us better connectivity in our flight network, with greater transfer flows.”

The Airbus A330-200 freighter aircraft can carry up to 64 metric tonnes of cargo and can fly up to 7,400 kilometres non-stop. It will allow Etihad Crystal Cargo to increase frequencies and build its presence in the high-growth European and Asian freight markets.

Etihad Crystal Cargo will take delivery of a second Airbus A330-200 freighter in October 2010 and the two Airbus A330-200s will join the two leased MD-11 freighters and two leased A300 leased freighters.

Air Transport Services Group purchase three Boeing 767-300 aircraft

Air Transport Services Group has said this week that its Cargo Aircraft Management (CAM) subsidiary has committed to purchase three Boeing 767-300 series extended-range aircraft from Qantas Airways and anticipates to take delivery in the third quarter. Read more

IATA report demand improvements continue in March - volcano related dip in April

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that March 2010 international scheduled air traffic showed continued strengthening of demand. Compared to March 2009, passenger demand was up 10.3%, while cargo demand grew 28.1%. Both are improvements from the 9.0% and 26.3% growth for passenger and freight demand recorded in February.

These are strong gains, but the data is being compared to March 2009, which was the low point for international air travel during the recession.  “March results show that the pace of the upturn is strong. But the trauma of the recession is not over. The industry has lost two years of growth, and passenger and freight markets are still 1% below early 2008 highs. Nonetheless, the pace of improvement, based on an improving global economic situation, is much faster than anybody would have expected even six months ago,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO. IATA noted that the International Monetary Fund revised global GDP growth forecasts from 3.0% to 4.3% for 2010.

With a 78.0% load factor recorded in March, passenger load factors remain at record highs. While demand expanded by 10.3% in March, capacity increases stood at 2.0%, boosting the load factor and creating much tighter supply and demand conditions. Global capacity remains 3-4% below pre-crisis levels.

International freight markets are also experiencing tighter supply and demand conditions. The 28.1% improvement in demand outpaced the 5.3% capacity expansion in March. This drove freight load factors to 57.1% — the highest since November 2002 when international freight load factors stood at 58.8%.

International Passenger Demand
Regional demand patterns continue to reflect the asymmetrical nature of the economic rebound.

• Asia-Pacific carriers posted strong demand growth of 12.6%, against a capacity expansion of 1.3%. The strength of the rebound in the region’s economies is supporting Asia-Pacific’s demand improvement. China’s economy grew by 11.9% in the first quarter while India’s economy is growing by 7.0%. There is also greater optimism for a return to economic growth in Japan.
• European carriers posted traffic growth of 6.0%, considerably weaker than the global improvements, but better than the 4.0% growth in February.  This is the result of sluggish home economies and continuing high unemployment rates. European carriers reduced capacity by 0.8% compared to the previous year.
• North American carriers posted a traffic growth of 7.8%, lagging the global average, although considerably improved from the 4.4% recorded in February.  Uncertainty over government budget cuts and tax increases is dampening demand for air travel, compared to other regions, particularly Asia-Pacific. North American carriers posted the highest load factor among the regions (81.6%) as a result of continuing careful capacity management.
• Middle Eastern carriers recorded the strongest traffic growth at 25.9%. While economic growth of 5% in the region is supporting some of this increase, a large part is attributed to market share gains on long-haul markets, connecting passengers over Middle Eastern hubs. Load factors of 76.2% were slightly below the global average.
• African carriers are now starting to see improving growth, having suffered market share declines for several years. During March, demand was up 13.6% and load factors grew to 67.4% for the month.
• Latin American carriers posted the weakest growth of any region, increasing only 4.6% in March. This is in sharp contrast to February when the region’s carriers grew by 8.5%. The reduction is largely due to the impact of the earthquake in Chile.

International Cargo Demand

• Global air freight is now within 1% point of recovering to its previous high point of early 2008. International air freight volumes shrank by over one quarter during the second half of 2008. The upturn in the business inventory cycle has almost eliminated that decline, although the upturn for international air freight has taken twice as long as the collapse.
• Despite the sluggish US economy, North American carriers have seen an international freight rebound (+32.2%). Both export and import volumes are very strong in the emerging economies of Asia-Pacific (+34.1%) and in Latin America which recorded the strongest growth at 47.9%.
• European carriers showed the weakest improvement in freight demand at 11.7%, largely due to the slow economic recovery in the region.

The strong traffic recovery is expected to show a dip in April as a result of the eruption of an Icelandic volcano in April that saw the shutdown of large portions of European airspace over a six-day period.  “European carriers were already showing the weakest recovery from the financial crisis through March. The volcanic ash crisis hit the weakest part of the industry the hardest. The majority of the US$1.7 billion in lost revenues was by Europe’s carriers. Passenger confidence is not affected and we expect a quick rebound. The combined impact of lost business and added costs will certainly hit the bottom line,” said Bisignani.

JAL to revise cargo fuel surcharge for May 2010

Japan Airlines (JAL) has applied to the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) to revise from May 1, 2010, its international cargo fuel surcharge for flights departing from Japan only.

Since April 1, 2009, JAL started adjusting its cargo fuel surcharge levels on a monthly basis by using the one-month average fuel price of Singapore kerosene of the month before last. As the average fuel price of Singapore kerosene for the month of March in 2010 was US$87.54 per barrel, the benchmark fuel price used for calculation of the fuel surcharge level in May will be within the range of US$85.00 to US$89.99 per barrel (refer to table below).

The international cargo fuel surcharge will therefore increase on long-haul international routes from 73 yen per kg to 80 yen, on medium-haul international routes from 63 yen per kg to 69 yen, and on short-haul routes from 53 yen per kg to 58 yen accordingly.

JAL Cargo Fuel Surcharge for May 2010

Korean Air reports highest Q1 profits - passengers and cargo growth

Korean Air have announced today its preliminary results for the first quarter of 2010 ended March 31, 2010. Korean Air recorded the highest ever operating profit numbers for the first quarter.  

Thanks to the surging growth in international passenger business and Korea-outbound traffic, as well as the rising demand for premium class services in the first quarter of 2010, the airline posted an operating revenue of 2,599 billion KRW, a year-on-year increase of 14.8%, while operating profit recorded a historic jump of 33.3 times to 220.2 billion KRW. Income before tax turned to the black from a loss of 673.9 billion KRW in Q1 2009 to a surplus of 226.9 billion KRW during the reporting period. International passenger and cargo businesses remained the major revenue contributors for the airline in Q1, accounting for 55% and 33% of the operating revenue respectively.

International Passenger Business

The airline posted overall growth of 1.8% and 14.4% in international passenger capacity and traffic compared to the corresponding period last year, reaching 18,386 million ASK and 14,153 million RPK respectively. Thanks to the rebound of the global economy in the reporting period, the demand for premium class services rose sharply, up 22% year-on-year, and became a significant contributor to profit. Moreover, the airline saw a steady pickup of transit passenger volume since 2008, which also facilitated the overall surge in profitability.

Attributable to the faster recovery of the economy in China and South East Asia compared to other parts of the world, travel demand also saw a quicker rebound in these regions. Korean Air saw 16% and 27% growth respectively on these routes during the reporting period. A stronger Korean Won in Q1 2010 also led to an increase in Korea-outbound traffic.

Cargo Business

Demand for world cargo rose steadily as reflected in a significant improvement in the performance of Korean Air’s cargo business in the first quarter of 2010. Capacity and traffic increased by 10.8% and 21.1% to 3,001 million AFTK and 2,315 million FTK respectively. Revenue generated from this segment posted a year-on-year increase of 57%, with China and Japan routes reaching new heights and exceeding their performance in 2008, a year when worldwide cargo business was substantial. Moreover, cargo revenue generated from Korea surged markedly by 134%, attributable to the increasing exports of Korean IT companies.

2010 Operational Environment & Outlook

Korean Air expects 2010 will be a thriving year for the aviation industry, driven by the positive operating environment both domestically and internationally. International air traffic demand is expected to be boosted by the rebound of the global economy, together with international events such as the 2010 World Expo and the 2010 World Cup. Passenger traffic from China should benefit from the increase in US visa issuing posts in the country. Favorable factors in Korea such as a stable dollar exchange rate, US visa waiver program influence, and the G20 Summit to be hosted in Seoul should also be positive for Korean Air in the year to come.

Apart from passenger traffic, world cargo business is also expected to prosper in 2010, thanks to the healthy export of IT products (such as LCD, semi-conductor and cell phone), high growth of intra-Asia demand, the introduction of economic partnership and trade agreements between Korea and India and the EU, and stability in the US exchange rate and fuel costs. The airline expects to see double-digit growth in its operating revenue and cargo business in 2010. Korean Air sees the cargo business as a strong growth driver in 2010, and will continue its concerted efforts to maximize the profitability of this business segment through a range of initiatives.

With competitive, renovated next generation aircraft with new premium seats, Korean Air will continue its efforts to strengthen its premium class service, and will introduce new fleet with enhanced fuel, maintenance and environmental efficiency. In terms of fleet size, Korean Air targets to operate 132 aircraft in 2010 (126 as of March 2010). The airline has also announced orders to add Boeing 787s and Airbus 380s to its fleet mix in the coming years.

With the turnaround of the aviation industry, Korean Air has set high goals for the coming ten years, with a target of reaching 140 geographical destinations, 20 million in passenger traffic and 2.5 million tons of cargo carried in 2019, the airline’s 50th anniversary year. Korean Air will continue its long-standing commitment to achieving “Excellence in Flight” and optimizing its business while aiming to provide the best quality to its customers.