international air transport association

Pandemic taught passenger airlines lesson about the value of freight

Close up of white jet staring right at nose and cockpit on the ground.

The director general of the International Air Transport Association acknowledged Monday that the organization has not seriously valued cargo throughout its history but said the pandemic taught airline executives that shipping goods can be profitable with more focused service.

“People probably haven’t fully appreciated the importance of cargo to the financial model of a lot of airlines,” Willie Walsh, the former chief executive of British Airways and International Airlines Group, said during a...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/pandemic-taught-passenger-airlines-lesson-about-the-value-of-freight

How much money have airlines lost so far in 2021?

A yellow Spirit Airlines plane and two small United Airlines jets taxi around an airport.

Financial losses for the global airline industry were sequentially smaller in the second quarter, but growing corporate optimism for the next 12 months isn’t shared by all as the COVID-19 delta variant undermines economic reopening and travel in many regions.

Airlines collectively lost $6.9 billion in the April-May period in 2021 compared to $14.4 billion in the first quarter of the year, according to new data from the International Air Transport Association. Leading the recovery were U.S....

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/how-much-money-have-airlines-lost-so-far-in-2021

Growth in air cargo volume hits 4-year high

A white plane takes off with view facing the aircraft.

Air cargo volumes increased 9.9% in June, capping the strongest annual first half for carriers since 2017 and giving the industry momentum heading into the traditional holiday shipping season, the International Air Transport Association reported Wednesday.

The news was less sanguine for companies that ship goods and are looking for more space in a crowded market. A large portion of the lift they need comes from passenger aircraft, with cargo riding in the lower deck. Passenger capacity...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/growth-in-air-cargo-volume-hits-4-year-high

Stranger things: Air cargo becomes value play over ocean freight

Supply chains in 2021 are living in an alternate dimension. Up is down and down is up. That’s what happens when container shipping rates exceed $20,000 per box and air cargo, normally used for high-value goods and perishable products for which speed to market is critical, doesn’t seem budget-scary anymore. 

The price for shipping goods by air is nearly double what it was before the COVID pandemic, but ocean freight has become so expensive – and even slower –  in recent months that air cargo...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/stranger-things-air-cargo-becomes-value-play-over-ocean-freight

Companies in desperate hunt for aircraft to move cargo

A forklift driver with a pallet, airfreight containers in a row and an aircraft in the background.

The airfreight market is so saturated that companies without precommitments, or the stomach to pay premiums, are having difficulty finding aircraft to move their goods. And import cargo keeps coming, on top of record volumes for air and ocean shipping, further straining an air logistics system stretched by a shortage of equipment and airport labor.

Logistics professionals and analysts say capacity is rapidly tightening as more shippers turn to air for cross-border transport, sending air cargo...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/companies-in-desperate-hunt-for-aircraft-to-move-cargo

Airlines to lose $48B despite banner year for cargo

Brown tail of UPS jet in foreground, cargo containers and American Airlines cargo warehouse in background.

Airlines will rake in record-high cargo revenues in 2021 on double-digit growth in shipping demand, but lose $47.7 billion because of weak air travel as most countries struggle with controlling virus variants and vaccinating populations, the International Air Transport Association said Wednesday.

The trade group downgraded its outlook from December, when it projected a $38 billion loss, with the net profit margin falling to minus 10.4% from minus 7.1%. The revised forecast represents a big...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/airlines-to-lose-48b-despite-banner-year-for-cargo

Air cargo gone wild: 9% growth in February

A tractor pulls a cargo pallet.

The international air cargo market has been on fire since last summer and the blaze is getting bigger, new figures show. The only thing dampening growth is a lack of capacity related to the severe pullback in international passenger flights.

February air shipment volumes increased 9% compared to the same month in 2019, according to data released Wednesday by the International Air Transport Association. Demand for air transport is so strong that it has returned to elevated levels last seen before...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/air-cargo-gone-wild-9-growth-in-february

IATA offers digital connectivity platform to air cargo industry

Split screen, with cargo pallet in front of a big jet engine of plane and blue screen of a big computer on the right to show digital freight transactions.

The air cargo industry’s selling point is speed, but many freight forwarders, ground handlers and airlines have been slow to move from manual to digital information sharing that makes the air supply chain more efficient. One reason is that setting up the necessary digital connections can be manual, slow and very complex.

The International Air Transport Association has stepped in to assist. On Tuesday, it officially rolled out a new subscription-based platform designed to facilitate the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/iata-offers-digital-connectivity-platform-to-air-cargo-industry

Air cargo 2021: The good, the bad and the ugly

A white and green plane loading pallets of cargo through side door.

The air cargo industry has officially recovered from the depths of the pandemic, with volumes in January 1.1% above the 2019 level. The bad news, according to the International Air Transport Association, is that freight capacity lost ground for the first time since April, dropping 5% on a monthly basis, because passenger airlines pulled back on flight activity in response to COVID outbreaks and widespread travel restrictions.

The amount of available airlift for cargo in January was 19.5% less...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/air-cargo-2021-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly

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