April carrier traffic highlights ongoing surge in airfreight demand

Overall, carriers across the globe reported significant gains in cargo traffic for April 2021 compared with the previous year. For many, the growth in traffic was complemented by increases in cargo load factors and capacity as well. [caption id="attachment_93615" align="alignright" width="450"] An Air China Cargo 777F. Photo/Air China[/caption] Singapore Airlines reported a considerable increase in cargo traffic of 82.7% YoY, surging from 245.3 million FTKs in April 2020 to 448.1 million FTKs in April 2021. The airline’s cargo load factor was 16.5 percentage points higher YoY as well, reaching 92.1%. Singapore Airlines attributed the increase in FTKs to “a capacity expansion of 49.9%,” adding that “all route regions except West Asia and Africa recorded year-on-year increases in CLF during the month,” according to their operating results release . Air China similarly reported a 93.8% increase YoY to 388.7 million RFTKs as compared to April 2020, and a 34.9% YoY increase in cargo load factor. China Southern Airlines and China Airlines each reported increases in cargo traffic as well – 20.6% and 33.6% YoY, respectively. Additionally, China Airlines reported an increase in cargo load factor of 1.1 percentage point to 74.2%. Meanwhile, unlike the other carriers, China Southern Airlines reported a decrease in cargo load factor by 11.7 percentage points to 47.5%. This may be a result of the 50.2% increase in ATK, however. Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific was the only Asia-based carrier to report a decrease in cargo traffic. The airline reported a 31.3% YoY decline in RFTKs. The airline attributed the loss to an 83% decrease in available capacity in their traffic figures release. “The number of freighter and cargo-only passenger flights that we operated was lower than at any point since the COVID-19 pandemic began, limiting our ability to provide more lift to what was a reasonably buoyant cargo market, particularly on long-haul routings,” according to Cathay’s release. There is limited traffic data available from U.S.- and Europe-based carriers, as many have ceased reporting traffic data since the pandemic began. However, the data available is consistent with the broader trend seen in Asia. American Airlines reported substantial growth in their cargo traffic, which reached 287 million FTKs this month – more than four times the level in April 2020. Meanwhile, Turkish Airlines, in comparison with April 2019, reported a 56.2% increase to 153 million FTKs.

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