The Air Transport Association of America (ATA) has reported that cargo traffic – as measured in revenue ton miles – declined 20 per cent year-on-year in May 2009, marking the 10th consecutive month of declining cargo traffic. Notably, cargo traffic in the Pacific region fell 26 per cent. Passenger revenue fell 26 per cent in June 2009 versus the same month in 2008 – the eighth consecutive month in which passenger revenue has fallen from the prior year. The … [Read more...] about AMERICAS: ATA reports ongoing declines in traffic

Delta Air Lines posted a US$257 million second quarter loss saying it no longer forecasts a full-year profit amid the recession-induced travel slump. Delta’s loss included $390 million in losses from fuel hedges and $58 million of costs for its merger with Northwest Airlines. Excluding those charges, Delta said it would have net profit of $191 million. “We are not planning for any meaningful recovery in the coming months and no longer expect to be profitable this … [Read more...] about AMERICAS: Fuel and merger costs drag Delta into Q2 loss

United Airlines parent UAL Corp. said it will cut international routes by seven per cent to further cut costs after posting a second-quarter loss which amounted to, excluding one-time costs, $323 million. Combined with earlier cuts, this most recent announcement will bring United’s capacity cuts to almost 11 per cent this year, up from a plan of as much as 10 per cent. The new cuts will take effect in the last four months of 2009. Revenue fell 25 per cent from a year earlier … [Read more...] about AMERICAS: United Airlines cuts international capacity

Cargojet Income Fund, a Canadian provider of time-sensitive overnight air cargo services, has entered into a partnership with SkyLink Express to combine their regional air cargo feeder aircraft networks. The new partnership will operate under the name Cargojet Regional and will be owned 55 per cent by Cargojet’s subsidiary Prince Edward Air and 45 per cent by SkyLink Express (SL Express). The new partnership will create a business with annual combined revenues of over C$26 million … [Read more...] about AMERICAS: Cargojet + SkyLink = Cargojet Regional

American Airlines says cargo revenue dropped 42.6 per cent in the second quarter 2009 to US$134 million and traffic in the same period was down 25.1 per cent from the same quarter last year. Yield was down 23.4 per cent. Overall, the carrier reported a US$390 million net loss for the second quarter, with an estimated $50-$80 million revenue loss blamed on swine flu. The carrier did however, confirm that it has financing in place to take delivery of all 84 of its Boeing 737 orders through 2011. … [Read more...] about AMERICAS: American’s cargo revenues down 42.6%