Air France-KLM Cargo Stabilized

Air France-KLM, Europe's biggest cargo airline, said its freight traffic stabilized in May after steep declines over the past six months.

Including Martinair, the Dutch cargo and charter carrier that was consolidated in January, the group’s freight traffic in May was down just 1 percent from a year ago, while capacity rose 2 percent. The load factor, or capacity utilization, declined by 1.9 points to 62.9 percent.

Excluding Martinair, freight traffic fell 18 percent from May 2008 on a 14.1 percent reduction in capacity which resulted in a three point decline in the load factor to 61.8 percent.

"This data confirms the signs of stabilization witnessed in cargo activity in recent months as well as the progressive adjustment of capacity to demand," the Franco-Dutch carrier said. At the height of the slump in January, Air France-KLM's cargo volume crashed 23.2 percent from the previous year.

Traffic on the Americas network declined 10.5 percent in May, while Asia/Pacific shipments were 17.5 percent lower. The Middle East/Africa routes remained buoyant, with traffic surging 45 percent from May 2008.

Air France-KLM trimmed capacity by 13 percent during the April-October summer season and grounded some of its freighters. It also delayed the delivery of two Boeing 777 freighters, originally scheduled for later this year, to sometime between 2010 and 2012.

British Airways' cargo business also stabilized, with traffic in May down 9.5 percent from a year ago, compared with a 14.8 percent decline in April.

Lufthansa Cargo, Europe's second-largest cargo carrier, is due to report its May traffic figures later this week. The airline’s traffic fell 26.7 percent in April as German exports have been in freefall amid the global downturn.

Contact Bruce Barnard at brucebarnard47@hotmail.com.