Cargo business at publicly traded passenger and combination airlines showed improvement in the second quarter from the prior three months as the recovery from a prolonged freight downturn fully took hold this year, according to earnings results released so far.
Lufthansa Cargo’s operating profit dipped 3% in the second quarter as rising expenses and lower yields offset an increase in core transportation revenue, but the airline said it expects the peak shipping season to deliver strong growth for the remainder of the year. Importantly, financial and operating performance improved sequentially from the first quarter.
Cargo revenue at Lufthansa Group’s logistics division increased 13% year over year to 747 million euros ($808 million) on a 14% gain in traffic sales, but was undercut by a 12% increase in operating expenses and yields that were 15% lower than a year ago due to additional capacity generated by expansion of passenger flights across the airline industry. Upward pressure on expenses came from higher costs from cargo jet charters, fleet expansion, wage and salary increases associated with new labor agreements, and a 2% bump in head count.
The inputs added up to $38.9 million in adjusted earnings before interest and taxes, down 3% from a year ago, Lufthansa reported on Wednesday. The results were much better than the first quarter, when Lufthansa Cargo suffered a $23.5 million operating loss as profits fell 114% from the same period in 2023. During the quarter, revenue cargo ton kilometers increased 17% to 2.5 million.
The improvement reflects tailwinds from the recovery in the air cargo market, where volumes are up about 13% year to date from a year ago, as well as strong e-commerce business. Capacity bottlenecks in ocean shipping due to the effective closure of the Red Sea shortcut by Houthi rebels in Yemen have also contributed to higher traffic and rates for airlines. Although yields have moderated with the increase in bellyhold cargo capacity, they remain 18.4% above pre-pandemic levels.
Lufthansa Cargo, which operates 11 Boeing 777-200 long-haul freighter aircraft, earlier this month added two Chinese destinations to its network. It began flying to Shenzehn for the first time from its home base in Frankfurt, Germany, and began service to Zhengzhou three days per week to take advantage of increased demand from e-commerce platforms in China. The new routes were made possible by the expected delivery by Boeing this summer of a new 777 cargo jet.
Lufthansa Cargo also flies four Airbus A321 regional freighters and has six other 777s that are operated by Aerologic, a joint venture with DHL Express. And, it handles cargo for group passenger airlines with the exception of Swiss International Air Lines.
Overall, Deutsche Lufthansa AG said normalization in passenger ticket pricing, too much capacity and inflation contributed to a 37% fall in operating profit, and it warned of another earnings fall in the third quarter. Lufthansa Airlines, the group’s largest carrier, recorded a loss that was attributed to the negative impact of strikes and delayed aircraft deliveries that led to operational inefficiencies. As part of a new cost initiative, Lufthansa Airlines will decommission its Airbus A340-300, A340-600, A330-200 and Boeing 747-400 aircraft by 2028 to reduce fleet complexity and fuel consumption.
Other passenger airlines
Cargo revenue at United Airlines during the second quarter was $414 million, an increase of 14.4% from the prior year. In April, United Cargo opened a modern cargo facility minutes from Newark International Airport, more than doubling the airline’s cargo space at the hub to 319,000 square feet. Nearly 30% of United’s global tonnage and cargo revenue is connected to Newark.
Delta Air Lines reported second-quarter cargo revenue of $199 million, up 16% year over year. American Airlines was still in negative growth with cargo revenue down 1.3% to $195 million.
Air France-KLM said revenue from actual flown shipments (not including interline revenue, container lease and other charges, and ground handling commissions from other airlines) fell 4.4%, adjusted for currency changes, to $500 million. The group announced Monday that it was suspending cargo routes in Latin America so KLM and Martinair Cargo can relocate several Boeing 747-400 freighter aircraft to the busy Hong Kong-Europe market.
All Nippon Airways, which operates nine Boeing 767-300 freighters in addition to its large passenger fleet, said cargo revenue increased 12% year over year to $315 million while traffic volume increased 3.3%. Higher rates on the trans-Pacific lane were bolstered by e-commerce out of China.
Cargo-flown revenue at Singapore Airlines was marginally lower than a year before, declining 0.2% to SGD$541 million (US$404 million). Overall air cargo demand remained buoyant, supported by strong e-commerce flows and increased demand for air freight driven by the Red Sea crisis and port congestion. That helped to raise the cargo load factor by nearly 6 points to 57.7% and mitigate the impact from lower cargo yields (-19.1%) due to increased bellyhold cargo capacity.
United Airlines was the best performer in the first half of the year, among publicly traded airlines that have reported so far, with cargo revenue growth of 5.9%. American (-9%), Delta (-1%), Lufthansa (-3%), and Air France-KLM (-14.2%) all experienced revenue declines in cargo business during the opening six months of 2024.
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