With the utilisation of cargo aircraft back to pre-recession levels, the industry is facing turbulence in the form of rising fuel and labour costs, as well as excess capacity, according to Iata’s first quarter review of the aviation industry. “Cargo margins are still good but are showing signs of being squeezed between stabilising yields and rising fuel costs. Heads of cargo report confidence in volume growth but much less confidence in gains in yields,” says the report. There is also a shift in cargo patterns. Cargo-only operations are picking up a larger share of the air freight business over time. Both belly and freighter operations have seen the traffic they carry rise 37% from the lows of 2009 until January this year. The recession caused a “bigger slump” in freight carried in the bellies of passenger aircraft than on freighters. As a result freighters are now carrying volumes 10% above prerecession peaks, compared with 2% for belly hold, according to the report.
