BA World Cargo quarterly volumes climb 5.8pc

BRITISH Airways World Cargo has recorded commercial revenue (flown revenue plus fuel surcharges) of GBP550.3 million (US$787.55 million) for the full year beginning April 2009, a drop of 18.2 per cent compared to the same period a year earlier. Excluding the impact of favourable exchange rate fluctuations, commercial revenues declined 26.1 per cent.

Volumes of 4.5 million cargo tonne kilometres (CTK) for the full year represent a decrease of 2.2 per cent year on year, while cargo capacity during the reporting period dropped by 4.2 per cent. Overall yield (commercial revenue per CTK) fell by 16.4 per cent compared to the previous year on the back of lower fuel surcharges and underlying market conditions. Excluding the impact of exchange rate movements, yield declined by 24.5 per cent, reports the UK's Transport Intelligence.

On the other hand, the fourth quarter registered an increase in revenue of 9.2 per cent compared to the same quarter the year before owing to a 5.8 per cent increase in volumes.

Said BA World Cargo controller Rachel Izzard: "Demand for cargo continued to improve in the fourth quarter, following the high unanticipated peak in the third quarter, led by demand for additional capacity out of China and South East Asian markets. These markets continue to maintain a high level of demand for air freight and our decision to maintain our freighter routes enabled us to build upon this recovery.

"While, we experienced some disruption to our schedule as a result of the heavy snow and ongoing industrial action, our innovative response in terms of scheduling solutions and the deployment of our comprehensive trucking network meant that we were able to minimise the impact across the cargo business," Ms Izzard said.

(Source: www.schednet.com)