IAG Cargo reported that its commercial revenue for the first quarter of 2014 was down over 7 percent compared to the same period in 2013.
Commercial revenue was 250 million euros (US$345 million) for Q1 2014 and 270 million euros (US$372.5 million) for Q1 2013.
“The Q1 results are consistent with the weak market conditions that continue to prevail. In such conditions, we continue to maintain our capacity discipline and resist taking business that does not make a positive contribution. We are pleased that our load factor has shown a modest improvement, especially as it was the final quarter of our wet-leased freighter program,” Steve Gunning, CEO at IAG Cargo, said.
Volumes of 1,371 million cargo tonne kilometers increased by 0.5 percent compared to Q1 2013. Capacity remained broadly flat. Overall yield for the quarter was down 3.8 percent.
“From a network perspective, our newest route to Austin, Texas, is already proving to be highly successful with high load factors after only two months of operation. Capacity to Tel Aviv has been boosted by the introduction of wide-bodied aircraft, which supports Constant Climate, our industry-leading pharma product. Finally, we have announced that next-generation aircraft will operate on several key routes including Singapore and Hyderabad. In addition, in early May, our new freighter program with Qatar Airways was launched smoothly with strong volumes. We are already further developing this program to expand the network reach,” Gunning said. “We’ve also started the rapid roll-out of the electronic Consignment Security Declaration (known as eCSD) across our business. This is in addition to the continued implementation of our new revenue management system and e-AWB. These initiatives are making good progress and enable our customers to do business with us more easily.”