AA Cargo stays busy in first quarter, but yields slump

American Airlines (AA) cargo volumes closed out the first quarter in strong form, but with yields down 6.7 percent to US$0.27, the carrier seems to be up against the same volatility that plagued the business last year.

The American carrier’s data coincides with Drewry’s latest air freight numbers that had rates just pulling out of a continuous 19.2 point drop between December 2016 and February 2017.

Rates aside, volumes are still rising. Cargo ton miles were up 13.9 percent to 619 million. Rising volumes pushed cargo revenues up 6.3 percent to 172 million for the first three quarters of 2017.

The carrier’s rising volumes are set to rise further, and AA adds more cargo intensive routes, kicking off the second quarter with a daily, nonstop widebody service between San Juan Luis Muñoz Marín Airport (SJU) and Philadelphia International Airport (PHL). The route pumps pharma shipments through AA Cargo’s dedicated 25,000-square-foot pharmaceutical facility in Philadelphia.

The daily Airbus A330-200 widebody route is an addition to the two daily narrowbody flights already in operation.