IAG Cargo saw revenues climb during the second quarter despite a decline in traffic during the period. The airline group saw total second-quarter cargo revenues increase by 3.7% year on year to reach €281m, while traffic declined by 0.3% to 1.4bn cargo tonne kms (CTK).
Cargo volumes were flat at 173,000 tonnes and cargo revenue per CTK reached 19.87, against 19.10 last year. IAG Cargo said that its traffic declined despite the airfreight market recording “relatively strong growth throughout the first half of 2018” and growth in its “premium products and robust regional performance in markets such as Asia Pacific, Europe and North America”.
IAG Cargo chief executive Lynne Embleton said: “Our focus is firmly on enhancing customer experience as we make significant investments at both our London and Madrid hubs, including the construction of a new Constant Climate centre in Madrid and the continued development of Premia, our new premium freight facility in London.”Construction is underway, with steelwork almost complete and the installation of a new material handling system now in progress.
“In July, we launched our new Critical Service Centre, a customer service team dedicated to our highest priority product, Critical.”The team of emergency solution experts monitor, advise and implement the shipment journey for our customers. We have taken almost 2,500 bookings of our Critical product in the first half of 2018 alone.“There continues to be huge scope for digital to transform the airfreight industry and we know that to continue to innovate, we must look both inside and outside the industry.
“In June, the third Hangar 51 global innovation programme opened with applicants being able to take part in the first ever ‘Cargo specific’ category.”We look forward to working with the next generation of technology and logistics companies to find relevant solutions for our business.“As we enter the second half of 2018, we remain focused on investing in our operation, embracing digital innovations and developing our products and services to enhance how we deliver for our customers.”
