Incheon-headquartered Korean Air Cargo reported Q317 cargo yields (in US$) up 12.3% y-o-y, on traffic that was 7.5% higher. Capacity rose 4.3% during the same period, pushing load factors up 2.4 points, to 78%. Overall tonnage rose 10%, driven primarily by higher international traffic. Outbound tonnage ex-Korea was up 10%.
With increasing cargo revenues, the carrier now derives 22.4% of its overall revenues from the division, up 3.3 percentage points from Q316. The regions Europe and the Americas continue to comprise the majority of Korean’s cargo revenues, contributing 69% of the unit’s overall revenues. The regions with the most significant increases in cargo revenue were once again Japan and Southeast Asia, where revenues rose 25% and 28% respectively.
Looking ahead, Korean said it expects positive cargo demand resulting from “The fourth industrial revolution, and restored consumer confidence.” Korean’s fleet now includes twelve 777Fs, seven 747 8Fs, five 747-400Fs and four 747-400ERFs.
Although Korean Air has not yet published its October traffic results, Incheon Airport recently reported its October cargo handle down 2.5%, to 247,000 tonnes – an anomaly given the airport’s handle has increased every month this year, and YTD is up 8.0% to 2.40 million tonnes for the first ten months of 2017.
