8 combination carriers where cargo contributes most to revenue

As combination carriers around the world begin reporting their 2018 year-end financial results, the relevant importance of cargo becomes abundantly clear by looking at cargo revenues as a fraction of a carrier’s overall transport revenue. Of the carriers listed on the chart at right, cargo’s share of a carrier’s revenue ranges from 1.9% at Delta Air Lines, to more than 33% at Taiwan-based China Airlines. The 8 carriers that saw the biggest contribution from cargo as a fraction of overall transport revenues in 2018 all have one thing in common – they operate at least five widebody freighters. With the exception of Emirates, four of the five carriers where cargo revenues are proportionately highest are based in the Asia-Pacific region. The top-8 carriers where cargo revenues comprise the largest share of overall transport revenues are: Taiwan-based China Airlines , which reported cargo revenues up 15% year-over-year in 2018, to US$1.6 billion (49.42 million TWD), representing 33% of the carrier’s overall revenue. Cargo traffic for the year increased by 2.9% y-o-y to 5.7 billion FTKs. Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific , which reported 2018 cargo & mail revenues up 18% year-over-year $US 3.6 billion (HKD 28.3 billion), representing about 25.5% of the carrier’s overall revenues. Cargo traffic increased by 4.2% to 12.12 billion FTKs. Tonnage rose 4.7%, to 2.15 million tonnes. Korean Air derived approximately 24% of its revenues from cargo in 2018 as revenues for the unit climbed 7.2% year-over-year to 3.12 trillion KRW (US$2.7 billion). Taiwan-based EVA Airways reported cargo revenues up 11.3% year-over-year in 2018, to US$894 million (27.6 billion TWD), representing 22% of the carrier’s overall air transport revenues. UAE-based Emirates ’ SkyCargo division contributed 14% of the airline’s total transport revenue at AED 12.4 billion (US$3.4 billion) for the FY ended 31 March 2018. Tonnage increased by 2% to reach 2.6 million tonnes during the period. UAE-based Etihad Airways reported 2018 cargo revenues of US $827 representing 14.0% of the company's overall transport revenues. Cargo traffic measured in FTKs were lower by 21% year-over-year at 3.4 billion. Tonnage dropped from 853,000 tonnes in 2017, to 682,100 last year. Singapore Airlines reported revenues from SIA Cargo segment generated US$1.6 billion for the company’s 2017/2018 financial year ending 31 March 2018, representing 14% of the company’s overall revenues. Cargo tonnage rose 4.3% year-over-year to 1.3 million tonnes. Turkish Airlines derived 12.8% of its revenue from cargo in 2018 on revenues of US$1.6 billion, an increase of 25.1% y-o-y. Tonnage increased by 24.8% to 1.4 million tonnes. Turning now to cargo revenues on a carrier-by-carrier basis for other selected airlines, it’s important to note that even at airlines where cargo represents a small slice of overall revenues, absolute revenue is still quite high. Air China reported 2017 cargo revenues up 23.5% year-over-year in 2017, to US$1.5 billion (10.25 billion RMB). This figure represents 8.8% of the company’s overall 2017 revenue. All Nippon Airways reported cargo & mail revenues up 19.7% to $1.4 billion (¥158.0 billion) for its 2017 fiscal year that ended 31 March 2018. This represented 9.1% of the company’s overall transport revenues. ion for fiscal 2017, ending 31 March 2018. Cargo tonnage during the period increased 4.3% to 990,000 tonnes. Cargo tonnage during the period increased 4.3% to 990,000 tonnes. Air France-KLM ’s cargo unit contributed 10.0% of the group’s total revenue at US$2.6 billion (€2.3 billion), for an increase of 4.1% y-o-y. Tonnage declined 0.1% to 1.1 million tonnes. International Airlines Group (IAG) reported cargo revenue up 3.6% year-over-year in 2018 to US$1.36 billion (€1.17 million) reflecting about 4.8% of the company's overall revenues. Lufthansa reported segment revenue from its logistics division up 7% year-over-year to $2.7 billion, representing a 7% share of the Group’s external revenue. Group cargo traffic for Lufthansa, its network carriers and Eurowings increased 1% year-over-year to 10.9 billion FTKs. American Airlines ’ cargo operations contributed 2. 3 % of the airline’s total revenue at US$ 1.0 billion, for an increase of 13.8 % y-o-y. Tonnage increased to about 907,000 tonnes . Delta Air Lines ’ cargo operation contributed 1 .9 % of the airline’s total revenue at US$ 865 m illion, for an increase of 16.0 % y-o-y. Chile-headquartered LATAM reported contributions from its cargo division of about 11.4 % of the airline’s total revenue at US$1. 2 billion, an increase of 6.0 % y-o-y. Tonnage increased 2.8% to 921,000 tonnes . United Airlines cargo segment contributed 3.0 % of the airline’s total revenue at US$ 1.2 b illion, for an increase of 1 1.0 % y-o-y. Those interested in learning more about Asia Pacific's leading cargo carriers are invited to join us at Cargo Facts Asia 2019, to be held 15-17 at the Langham Shanghai. For more information, or to register, visit www.cargofactsasia.com .

8 combination carriers where cargo contributes most to revenue

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