Air Cargo Carriers News

Japan Airlines reported group net profit of 80.3 billion yen ($723 million), a drop of 2 percent year-over-year in the first half of fiscal 2014, despite a sharp rise in international cargo revenue.

ANA Holdings’ international cargo revenue surged more than 20 percent year-over-year in the first half of fiscal 2014, contributing to a big jump in the largest Japanese airline group’s net profit in the April-September period.

Lufthansa Cargo’s slim operating profit of 6 million euros ($7.6 million) in the third quarter, 20 percent higher than a year ago, maintained the carrier’s status as one of the few profitable scheduled air freight operators.

Steady growth in air freight demand was recorded by Asia’s airlines during September as the industry continued to benefit from rising international trade.

Air cargo volumes will grow 4.1 percent annually through 2018, according to recently released forecast from the International Air Transport Association.

Lufthansa Cargo said all its freighter flights will operate as scheduled as pilots began a 35-hour strike at midday that forced the parent airline to cancel 1,450 short- and medium-haul passenger flights.

Strong growth out of Hong Kong and China in September saw Cathay Pacific and Dragonair continuing to post double-digit growth as cargo and mail throughput rose 14.5 percent compared to the same month last year.

The air cargo market is improving based on evidence from a number of fronts — a situation that “we have not been able to talk about in years,” the investment firm BB&T said a report.

Lufthansa Cargo’s volume shrank 2.9 percent in September from a year ago, but the carrier cautiously anticipates a seasonal uptick in demand in the fourth quarter.

Air France-KLM’s freight traffic slumped 17.7 percent in September from a year ago largely due to a two-week-long strike by pilots at the carrier’s French unit that is expected to plunge Europe’s largest air cargo business deeper into the red.

The air cargo industry is in a battle for survival and needs to urgently address fast evolving shipper demands, said Glyn Hughes, global head of cargo for the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

There is no significant loss of air cargo to ocean freight, said Atlas Air president and CCO Michael Steen, arguing against a widely held industry belief that shippers were shifting modes to save on transport costs.

Lufthansa Cargo pilots will stage a 48-hour strike on Wednesday and Thursday, but the German airline said it will have little impact on shippers.

Smarter buying, modal shift and a less time-sensitive need from customers threatens to derail the recent recovery in air freight, leaving the industry with little time to sit back and enjoy its first peak season in years.

A Kansas court decision could influence 20 class action lawsuits claiming FedEx Ground drivers in the last decade were employees, not independent contractors.

European air freight shippers are facing fresh disruption today as a strike by Lufthansa pilots forced the cancellation of 50 long-haul flights to and from Frankfurt, Germany, the German carrier’s global cargo hub.

Air cargo out of Asia is seeing its first peak season in five years, and better capacity management among cargo carriers is set to push up freight rates into the last quarter.

Air France initiated a contingency cargo plan today as pilots begin a week-long strike that will ground more than half of the carrier’s flights.

Strong air cargo traffic out of Asia continued to lift Cathay Pacific volumes with August figures soaring almost 20 percent year-over-year and the Apple iPhone 6 launch expected to keep traffic high through September.

Lufthansa Cargo saw traffic dip 1.1 percent in August from a year ago as an increasingly weak European market offset growth on reviving Asia-Pacific and North and South America routes.

The gap between the sluggish European air cargo sector and the resurgent global market looks set to widen with two of the region’s leading carriers posting declines in freight traffic in August.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China said it plans on liberalizing its air cargo market, but it’s not clear whether China will allow more foreign carriers to operate domestically.

The air cargo market is giddily awaiting tomorrow’s unveiling of Apple’s new iPhone 6 that when launched will create a spike in export traffic from the production city of Zhengzhou and add further lift to solid air freight volumes out of China.

Air France-KLM announced a major downsizing of its freighter fleet in the latest bid to return its cargo operation to profitability amid sagging global demand and increased competition from fast-growing Arab Gulf airlines.

A long-term shift from air to ocean freight by shippers looking to cut transport costs and willing to tolerate longer transit times may be slowing, according to recent comments from transportation executives.

Virgin Atlantic unveiled plans to boost its core trans-Atlantic passenger and cargo route network and axe flights to Tokyo, Mumbai, Cape Town and Vancouver in a bid to achieve “record levels of sustained profitability” by 2018.

Lufthansa Cargo and All Nippon Airways will soon launch joint freight services between Europe and Japan after obtaining antitrust approval in Japan.

Global air cargo traffic surged 5.8 percent in July from a year ago and likely will continue to increase in the coming months, driven by accelerating economic growth in key Asian markets, according to the International Air Transport Association.

Rising revenue at Air China in the first half was not enough to lift cargo yield into positive territory, and the mainland carrier struggled against stiff competition and a weakening RMB-U.S. dollar exchange rate.

Air freight pricing is stable for the moment, but with the holiday season on the horizon Drewry is predicting prices will shoot up in coming months.

There are increasing signs that an Icelandic volcano could erupt, potentially disrupting shippers transporting goods via the freighters and in the bellies of passenger planes — much like an eruption on the island did in 2010.

Shippers transporting goods via freighters and in the bellies of passenger planes flying in the northern European are closely watching an Iceland volcano, as many recall how a 2010 eruption on the island seriously disrupted shipments for days.

Hong Kong-flag carrier Cathay Pacific reported today that its group profit skyrocketed more than 14-fold in the first half of 2014 from a year earlier...

Air freight rates are steadily climbing as demand creeps upward, leaving airline heads optimistic about the second half of 2014.

The growth in global air cargo traffic slowed in June as a strong performance by Asia-Pacific and Middle East carriers was offset by declines in Europe and North and South America, according to the International Air Transport Association.

An increasing Asian appetite for live lobster is being met with a weekly shipment of live lobsters from Nova Scotia to South Korea.

IAG’s cargo revenue slumped more than 12 percent in the second quarter as the carrier exited freighters.