FREIGHTERS GROUNDED IN WAKE OF AIR CARGO SLUMP.
12 January 2009AIRLINES are set to ground more aircraft, slash services or agree more joint services in the face of a slump in air cargo volumes, writes Keith Wallis.
This comes as the International Air Transport Association said international air freight traffic tumbled 13.5% in November, the biggest drop since 2001.
Cathay Pacific Airways and Singapore Airlines have either grounded or plan to park aircraft, while Japan Airlines and Nippon Cargo Airlines will operate joint services to cut capacity.
“ore cargo aircraft are likely to be grounded if the crash in cargo volumes continues, as seems likely, and airlines increasingly utilise bellyhold space rather than dedicated freighters for services,”aid one Asian airline executive.
He added: “n the positive side, at least from the environmental standpoint, there is likely to be more co-operation among carriers in an attempt to reduce costs and maximise revenue in the fallingmarket.”
Commenting on the steep fall in air freight volumes in November, IATA director-general Giovanni Bisignani said: “he 13.5% drop in international cargo is shocking. As air cargo handles 35% of the value of goods traded internationally, it clearly shows the rapid fall in global trade and the broadening impact of the economic slowdown. By comparison, this is the largest drop since 2001, in the aftermath of September 11.”
IATA said airlines in the Asia-Pacific region, which represents 44.6% of the air cargo business, saw “reight traffic fall by 16.9% in November —he largest decline of any region”
Volumes in all the other major airfreight markets except the Middle East saw double-digit declines in November. Airlines in Latin America saw cargo traffic drop 15.7%, while North American carriers experienced a 14.4% fall and European carriers reported an 11% crash. Carriers in the Middle East saw cargo volumes slide 1.6% while those in Africa saw a 2.2% increase, down from 3% growth in October.
Mr Bisignani said: “ith no end in sight for the worsening global economy, the 2008 gloom will carry over into the new year. Relief in the oil price has been outstripped by the falls in demand and capacity cuts are not keeping pace. The industry is back in intensive care. Improving efficiency everywhere will be the theme for 2009.”
Cathay Pacific has grounded three freighters starting from this month after the carrier said freight volumes were down 15.4% in November compared with a year earlier. Two Boeing 747 freighters will come from the Cathay Pacific Cargo fleet while the third will come from regional subsidiary Dragonair. Some cargo services will also be cut. The airline operates a fleet of 22 Boeing 747 freighters and has a further 15 cargo aircraft on order.
Cathay Pacific said: “ourth-quarter cargo loads and yields have declined significantly against the same period in 2007. The percentage year-on-year reduction in cargo revenue has been greater than that of passenger revenue,”he carrier said as part of a profit warning issued last Wednesday.
Singapore Airlines is mulling plans to ground at least one of its 13 Boeing 747 freighters that could be parked.
Japan Airlines and Nippon Cargo Airlines confirmed last week that they would operate joint transpacific services between Japan and the US in late March. The two carriers —ippon Cargo Airlines is owned by Nippon Yusen Kaisha —re looking at further joint cargo services and consolidating operations at airports in an effort to reduce capacity and costs.
Australian airline Qantas has grounded aircraft to reduce capacity.
(c) 2009 Informa PLC
Lloyd's List
Go to top
Print Page
Smaller
