Airline cargo bosses remain in positive mood

Airline cargo bosses are in an upbeat mood, with a new IATA survey suggesting a continued strong financial performance in the second half of 2017.
IATA’s latest business confidence survey, conducted in early-October, asked for the opinions of airline chief financial officers and heads of cargo.
Exactly 80% of respondents reported that profitability increased in year-on-year terms in the third quarter of this year – up from just 36% in the first quarter of the year.
This response represents the strongest outcome in 10 years, IATA revealed.
Also, 87% of respondents said they believe that the profit outlook will be unchanged or improve over the year ahead, supported by ongoing robust demand.
Costs have risen, primarily as a result of higher oil prices. Nevertheless, almost half of all respondents indicated that they witnessed an increase in their airline’s freight yields over the same period.
In terms of demand, the October survey found that 58% of respondents – a percentage unchanged from last quarter – reported a year-on-year rise in cargo volumes in the third quarter of 2017.
Just 12% of respondents suffered a decrease in freight volumes. Looking ahead, 48% of respondents reported that they expect a further increase in freight volumes over the year ahead, down from 58% last quarter.
However, none of the respondents currently expect their freight volumes to decrease over the next 12 months.