Air France-KLM Group sees third quarter cargo revenues drop

Air France-KLM Group saw a small drop in cargo revenues in the third quarter but maintained steady cargo yields.

The Group recorded total cargo revenues of €830m in the third quarter of 2022, which was a 0.6% drop from the year before.

However, total cargo revenues in the third quarter of 2022 were 61% higher compared to 2019.

The return of belly capacity with increased passenger flights saw cargo capacity increase by 15.7% in available ton km compared to the third quarter of 2021.

Compared to the pre-Covid year 2019, cargo capacity in the third quarter was still down 7%.

However, overall cargo traffic decreased by 13.5% and resulted in a drop in load factor of almost 16 points to 46.2%.

Yields, however, were up 14% versus 2021.

Increased belly capacity meant the Group saw a big increase in third-quarter revenues year-on-year.

The third quarter group revenues were €8.1bn, up 77.6% the year before.

Benjamin Smith, Group chief executive, said: “Thanks to solid preparation and to our agile approach to capacity, Air France-KLM was able to make the most of the strong travel demand this quarter.

“While the situation remains unsatisfactory in some key airports-, notably impacting KLM at its Amsterdam Schiphol hub, we saw significant improvements following the operational challenges that had erupted earlier this year.

“The Group posted a strong operating result in spite of rising fuel costs and inflation, and the Group remains confident in its ability to further increase capacity during the Winter season.”