AF KLM Cargo continues to benefit from shipper push to air

Air France KLM Martinair (AFKLMP) Cargo saw its revenues and volumes improve in the third quarter as shippers continued to utilise airfreight to avoid disruption in ocean shipping.

The cargo division saw third-quarter revenues increase by 25.2% year on year to €677m, while volumes increased 5% to 236,000 tons.

Cargo traffic in revenue tonne km (RTK) terms improved by 8% to 1.8bn RTK, while capacity was up by 2.3% to 3.9bn available RTK and the cargo load factor increased by 2.4 percentage points to 46%.

Explaining the revenue and volume performance, the company highlighted disruption in ocean shipping and AI demand, which more than offset a decline in e-commerce volumes from Asia to Europe following the introduction of an import charge in July.

“Demand continued to outpace capacity growth, supported by disruption to maritime routes around the Suez Canal and Strait of Hormuz, which led some shippers to move urgent, high-value goods by air,” AFKLMP Cargo said.

“The surge in demand for airfreight capacity associated with AI supply chains contributed to a tighter market environment.

“This created opportunities for Air France-KLM Cargo to attract additional cargo volumes and opportunities for full freighter charters supporting our yield performance across the Group’s network.

“These factors supported the business amid a sharp decline in e-commerce shipments coming from Asia following the taxation of small parcels.”

The company added that freighter availability was limited by scheduled and unscheduled maintenance.

In comparison, German rival Lufthansa Cargo saw its cargo traffic increase by 11% in the third quarter, while revenues were up 26%.

The Frankfurt-based airline said it benefited from broad-based regional growth, additional India flights, and pharma and semiconductor demand growth.

The overall Air France KLM Group saw third-quarter revenues increase by 7.6% to €9.9bn and net income was up 22.1% to €938m.

Handling consolidation

The increase in cargo revenues and volumes came on the same day it was announced that KLM will consolidate its cargo handling activities at Schiphol to its own warehouse as part of measures to improve its financial performance.

“This will help prepare KLM Cargo for the new cargo terminal, scheduled for completion in 2035, and enable it to attract more transfer cargo passing through Schiphol,” KLM said in an announcement.

In 2024, Menzies Aviation announced a deal that would see it provide cargo warehouse and ramp handling services for all KLM/Martinair freighter operations at Schiphol for five years.