IAG Cargo has today announced its Q3 2016 results, reporting commercial revenue of €240 million over the period from 1 July to 30 September 2016, a decrease of 7.0 per cent compared to 2015. Adjusting the prior year’s figures to reflect a directly comparable operation, commercial revenue decreased 6.5 per cent versus last year at constant exchange.

Challenging market conditions continue, on a like for like basis IAG Cargo’s volumes were up 4.5 per cent, while yields decreased 10.5 per cent at constant exchange.

“We have spoken about the choices our business has made to stay at the forefront of our industry, exiting from our own fleet of freighters, focusing on premium products and partnerships with other world class airfreight businesses. It is this that has enabled us to offset some of the yield pressures and grow our revenue share in these challenging market conditions,” said Drew Crawley, CEO at IAG Cargo.

“Our commitment to develop premium products and customer experience was further reinforced last month, when we announced a €61.3 million investment in a new premium facility at London Heathrow. On 3 October we also launched a new emergency solutions product, Critical, which has already been well received by customers across our network.

“We have also continued to launch new routes this quarter. Tehran commenced operation on 1 September and just last week we announced a new service to New Orleans, making us the first carrier to directly connect London to Louisiana.

“In October, I was also pleased to help launch the IAG global accelerator programme, Hangar 51, an initiative that will find and scale some of the best aviation and logistics tech start-ups who will help us digitise our business processes to speed up and simplify our business. This is something the cargo industry has long overlooked and I am excited to see how we can make IAG Cargo a leader in this area.

“The IAG Cargo platform, alongside our partnerships and premium focus, place us in a strong position to compete effectively in the current market.”