European cargo monthly: Air France KLM on the ascent in August

Air France KLM saw its cargo traffic continue to improve in August, while some of its main rivals had a tougher time during the month.
The latest figures from European airlines show that Air France KLM saw cargo traffic increase by 4.8% year on year in August to 741m revenue tonne kms. Over the first eight months of the year demand at the group is up by 0.3%.
Capacity was up by the lower amount of 3.4% and as a result its August load factor reached 56.8% against 56% last year.
This is the airline group’s largest percentage increase in cargo traffic since November 2016 and the first time for a while it has really maintained a streak – this is its third increase in a row – of outgrowing major competitors.
Over recent years Air France KLM has been offloading freighter aircraft, which has had an affect on its cargo traffic figures.
Earlier this year, there was strike action at Air France, which also took its toll on performance.
Click on chart for interactive version

Elsewhere the summer lull in cargo demand, European holidays and a general slowdown in the overall cargo market was evident in the figures reported by airlines.
Lufthansa saw August cargo traffic decline by 0.7% year on year to 895m revenue tonne kms, while capacity was up 3.6%.
Its load factor declined to 63.2% against 65.9% last year. The performance lags behind the rest of the year as the carrier group saw cargo traffic increase by 1.7% during the first eight months.
The IAG Group continued to see cargo demand decline in August as it reported a 0.3% slide to 472m cargo tonne kms. This compares with a decline of 0.8% over the first eight months.
Finnair, meanwhile, saw demand decline 1.9% to 89.6m revenue tonne kms. Over the first eight months cargo traffic is up by 1.5%.
Capacity additions mean its cargo load factor for August declined to 59.3% compared with 65% last year.
The airline said that volumes decreased from the comparison period last year when Finnair rented cargo space from Japan Airlines.
However, the carrier noted a positive cargo development in Japan and Hong Kong and, due to the capacity growth on the route, to Thailand
Finnair’s total cargo capacity includes three weekly freighter flights between Helsinki and Brussels, operated by DHL, although these are due to end.

Read more air cargo data news

Click here for a free digital subscription

Share this story

Related Topics

Latest data news

Air France KLM Cargo eyes Asia as performance improves in Q3

Air France KLM Martinair Cargo recorded improvements in cargo volumes, revenues and yield in the third quarter as it benefitted…

Read More

Share this story

Charter demand boosts Cargojet’s performance in Q3

Demand for charter operations helped boost revenues for Canada-based freighter operator Cargojet in the third quarter of the year. The…

Read More

Share this story

DHL Global Forwarding sees Q3 airfreight revenues rise but profits under pressure

DHL Global Forwarding saw its air cargo volumes and revenues rise in the third quarter led by trades out of…

Read More

Share this story

Air Cargo News

Air Cargo News
Established in 1983, Air Cargo News is the leading source of news, information, interviews, analyses and reports to the global airfreight industry. Our leading portfolio includes print, digital and events that give businesses in the airfreight industry the ability to connect with decision-makers in this sector.