Air Cargo Carriers News

DB Schenker, the logistics unit of German railroad Deutsche Bahn, has reached agreement with three airlines involved in a global price-fixing cartel but is still seeking damages from three other carriers.

The global air cargo market got off to a sluggish start in 2015, with traffic up 3.2 percent year-over-year in January as lower volumes on European and North and South American routes offset strong growth in the Asia-Pacific region.

International Airlines Group’s cargo revenue declined 7.5 percent in 2014 from the previous year, largely because the owner of British Airways and Iberia quit freighter operations.

Trans-Pacific air freight markets will continue to benefit from shipper demand as U.S. ports take several months to clear the backlog of containers that stacked up during the protracted waterfront labor dispute between terminals and the union.

Air France-KLM’s cargo losses widened to 212 million euros [US $242 million] in 2014 from 202 million euros in the previous year as a two-week pilots’ strike compounded the impact of a weak global airfreight market.

Solid freight demand from North American markets saw Cathay Pacific and sister airline Dragonair get the year off to a good start and allowed the carrier to operate an almost full freighter schedule in January.

It was no surprise to find air cargo executives at the WCA Worldwide forwarders conference in Hong Kong lobbying for more shippers and forwarders to send their cargo via air, but the U.S. port congestion provided a helpful marketing tool.

The highly public spat between Alibaba Group and China regulators over allegations of counterfeit or misdeclared goods being sold via the Internet giant’s online platform has again highlighted supply chain safety and security concerns faced by logistics providers and airlines transporting the e-commerce products.

Shrugging off the economic downturn in its home market, Russia’s AirBridgeCargo Airlines boosted traffic 17.6 percent in 2014, its 10th anniversary, even as leading Western airlines continued to downsize their freighter operations.

Japan Airlines reported a 3.1 percent year-over-year drop in group net profit for the first three quarters of fiscal 2014, to 119.684 billion yen (US$1.01 billion), despite a nearly double-digit rise in international cargo revenue.

ANA Holdings’ international cargo revenue surged 20.9 percent year-over-year in the first three quarters of fiscal 2014, helping the largest Japanese airline group post a jump in profit for the April-December period

Cathay Pacific’s new air cargo terminal in Hong Kong handled 1.45 million tons during 2014 in its first full year of operation.

Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Ltd. (Hactl) ended a solid 2014 by recording its strongest quarter of the year as Asia’s air freight sector continued its robust recovery.

Alitalia unveiled plans to increase its cargo operations as part of a strategy to return to profitability in 2017 following years of losses, billions of dollars of state subsidies and a narrow escape from bankruptcy.

Cathay Pacific and its sister airline Dragonair carried 1.72 million tons of cargo during 2014, a 12 percent increase over the previous year as the strong second half performance continued into December.

International air freight demand accelerated late last year, driven by strong growth in shipments of electronic goods going into the year-end festive season, the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) said today.

Following a strong end to 2014, global air freight demand will rise 4.5 percent in 2015, outpacing the growth of world trade, the International Air Transport Association says.

China Southern Airlines’ executive vice president and chief operating officer for flight operations have been axed on suspicion of “job-related crime”.

The air freight business has just completed its best peak season in years, but the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has presented a sobering picture of an industry enjoying a cyclical upturn while struggling to overcome structural problems.

Strong air cargo volume on Asia-U.S. routes in the last quarter has seen airlines raising rates faster than forwarders can pass them on to customers, placing margins under pressure.

The German government has drawn up a draft law to curb the power of small but powerful niche labour unions than have mounted frequent strikes, mainly in the transport sector, paralyzing the nation’s economy throughout this year.

Trans-Pacific shipments between Hong Kong and fast recovering North American markets drove up Cathay Pacific cargo throughput in November, with the strong demand expected to last deep into the final month of the year.

Lufthansa Cargo managed to increase traffic in November despite ongoing strikes by pilots, while its leading European rivals posted lower volumes as they prepare to downsize their freighter operations.

Five straight quarters of continued growth and a supply-demand balance has led to a turnaround in the air freight business this year, with more solid growth still to come, believes Atlas Air’s Michael Steen.

Strong consumer spending in the U.S. over the past three months has depleted inventories and the replenishment drive to restock shelves for the Spring launches will keep air and ocean carriers busy well into the first quarter.

Lufthansa Cargo and All Nippon Airways have launched the world’s first air cargo joint venture, with maiden flights between Europe and Japan.

Lufthansa Cargo pilots will stage a day-long strike Thursday, the second walk out this week, in a year-long dispute over retirement benefits.

Lufthansa Cargo pilots will stage a 21-hour walkout Tuesday as part of a year-long wave of strikes that forced the German carrier to cancel almost half of its scheduled short and medium-haul passenger flights today.

The single biggest cost of shipping lines and air cargo carriers continues to tumble, giving the freight transport industry a welcome end-of-year bonus to add to the best peak season in years, with some savings transferred to customers through reduced fuel surcharges.

The international air freight demand of Asia-Pacific airlines, measured in freight ton kilometres (FTK), grew by a firm 6.4 percent in October, on the back of buoyant demand for electronic goods from manufacturing hubs in North Asia.

A tentative U.S.-Mexico aviation pact would expand air cargo services linking the North American trading partners, but the biggest benefits may go to global shippers.

Asia’s competitive airline environment is placing intense profitability pressure on carriers in the region, but the focus on costs will not see air cargo shippers facing the wide scale route cutbacks, reduced frequencies and rolled shipments that have afflicted their ocean freight counterparts.

Air cargo is going through a period of adjustment that will keep profitability largely out of reach for the world’s carriers until more of a balance is achieved between cargo capacity and demand.

Cargolux, Europe’s largest all-cargo carrier, posted its best ever October, with its fleet of 22 Boeing 747 freighters breaking records for tonnage, revenue and block hours.

European Union regulators approved Etihad Airways' acquisition of a 49 percent stake in loss-making Italian-flag carrier Alitalia.

The strong rebound of trans-Pacific trade will ensure the air cargo industry enjoys a happy festive season this year, but few are prepared to forecast the robust growth will continue much past Chinese New Year.

The chaotic waterfront scenes jamming up U.S. gateway ports on the West Coast are proving a boon for the air charter business and with no end in sight to the congestion, forwarders are securing space on chartered freighters for urgent cargo.

Cathay Pacific will launch a new freighter service to Cambodia’s capital of Phnom Penh later this month, strengthening its Asia-Pacific network on the back of industry data that shows airlines in the region growing by almost 6 percent in September compared to the same month last year.

IAG Cargo’s revenue declined nearly 8 percent in the third quarter as a reduction in British Airways freighter operations offset an improved performance at its Spanish partner Iberia.