Air France-KLM cargo continues its descent

Air France-KLM’s cargo traffic continued to go down, decreasing by 4.3 percent in June compared to the same month last year.

“While not representing a turning point in market trends, the June traffic figures published today as well as bookings for July and August nevertheless reflect the overcapacity on certain long-haul routes, notably North America and Asia, with the attendant impact on yields,” the company said in its report. “This comes on top of the persistently weak cargo demand and the challenging situation in Venezuela identified in the first quarter.”

The airline said due to these factors, it is revising its full-year EBITDA target from 2.5 billion euros (US$3.4 billion) to 2.2-2.3 billion euros (US$2.9-3.1 billion).

There was also a 9.4 percent reduction in full freighter capacity.

Cargo traffic fell for Air France-KLM in every region, with Asia-Pacific at the highest (5.4 percent) and Caribbean/India Ocean at the lowest (1.7 percent). Americas decreased by 3.4 percent, and Africa/Middle East by 4.3 percent.