American Airlines’ cargo revenue fell year on year (YOY) by 12.3 per cent in the second quarter (Q2) of this year compared to Q2 in 2014.
The carrier’s revenue was $194 million, which was a decline on the $221 million that was achieved in the same quarter last year. For the first six months of the year, the airline’s cargo revenue fell by 9.2 per cent to $388 million from $428 million in the same period in 2014.
American Airlines cargo tonne miles (CTM) in Q2 saw a slight YOY fall of 0.1 per cent to 594 million. The CTM figure was down on the 595 million in Q2 last year. In the first six months of the year, the carrier’s CTM was 1.1 billion, a 0.7 per cent drop on the same period last year.
The decline in cargo results came despite the airline achieving the highest overall quarterly net profit in its history of $1.9 billion, up 27 per cent on Q2 in 2014. American’s total revenue in Q2 for the carrier was $10.8 billion, a decrease of 4.6 per cent on Q2 last year. American Airlines chairman and chief executive officer, Doug Parker, says: “The overall results are especially remarkable considering the significant and successful work underway to integrate two airlines (American and US Airways.”
American Airlines invested in its cargo operation in June when it opened a new $5 million 25,000 square foot pharmaceutical cargo cold storage facility in Philadelphia International Airport, in response to rising demand for transportation of complex pharmaceuticals.
The airline explains it will continue to upgrade its fleet and expects to spend $5.4 billion on new aircraft this year. During Q2 it took delivery of 24 new mainline aircraft and nine new regional aircraft and retired 34 older mainline and eight older regional aircraft.
In quarter four this year; American will start new bellyhold routes from Los Angeles International Airport to Tokyo Haneda International Airport and Sydney International Airport.
