Air France-KLM Cargo Slumps, BA Limits Decline

Air France-KLM’s cargo traffic in November slumped 8.1 percent year-over-year, as the Franco-Dutch carrier cut freighter capacity amid falling demand on key Asia/Pacific and Americas routes.

Full freighter capacity was down 6.9 percent from November 2010, as Air France-KLM continued to reduce its exposure to a sector it considers too cyclical to provide a reliable profit stream. Overall capacity, including belly space on passenger aircraft, declined 2.3 percent from a year ago.

Despite reduced freighter capacity, the carrier’s cargo load factor declined by 4.3 percentage points to 68.2 percent.  The carrier said unit revenue, excluding currency movements, declined relative to November 2010 but it didn’t give details.

Americas traffic fell 6.3 percent in November and Asia/Pacific shipments were down 8.8 percent from a year ago.

IAG, formed by the merger of British Airways and Iberia, significantly outperformed its Franco-Dutch rival. November traffic declined just 1.7 percent while revenue increased by 1 percent on 2.4 percent more capacity, which trimmed the load factor by 1 percentage point to 72.6 percent.

British Airways traffic was unchanged from November 2010, while Iberia’s smaller cargo unit carried 6.8 percent less freight.

-- Contact Bruce Barnard at brucebarnard47@hotmail.com.