Delta Air Lines has seen its cargo revenues improve by double-digit percentage levels in the third quarter of the year.
The Atlanta-headquartered airline registered a 29% year-on-year increase in third-quarter cargo revenues to $301m.
The company said the revenue increase was fuelled roughly equally by volume and yield, suggesting an increase of around 15% for each.
If the airline’s volumes have been increasing by 15%, that would outstrip the average recorded by North American airlines according to IATA figures.
The airline association reported that in August North American airlines benefitted from a 6.6% year-on-year increase in cargo tonne kms.
Over the first eight months of the year, North American cargo tonne kms have increased by 5.9%.
IATA figures show that the fastest-growing major North American trade lane is from Asia where cargo tonne kms were up 13.2% in August, marking seven months of consecutive growth.
While Delta has a presence on the transpacific and is targeting expansion on the trade, its main international market is the transatlantic.
Europe-North America cargo tonne kms increased by 4.3% in August, according to IATA.
Cargo revenues would have also increased on the back of higher fuel prices, which have recently been tracking at more than 100% of last year’s levels.
During the airline’s second-quarter conference call, Joe Esposito, Delta’s executive vice president & chief commercial officer, said that the airline was benefiting from the rerouting of cargo away from the Middle East due to the ongoing conflict and also its expansion in Asia.
