IAG July tonnage slides 1pc, but air cargo revenues increase 3.7pc

INTERNATIONAL Airline Group (IAG), the parent of British Airways World Cargo and Iberia Cargo, announced that traffic stalled in July with tonnage declining one per cent year on year, while capacity surged 4.1 per cent over the same period.

However, the merged carrier saw freight revenues increase 3.7 per cent year on year in July.

The results are in line with statistics for the first half of 2012, which show freight volumes dropping 1.8 per cent while offering 3.7 per cent more capacity against the first half of 2011.

IAG also saw sales slip in the first half of 2012, with commercial revenue falling 0.3 per cent year on year to EUR590 million (US$731 million) despite overall yield increasing 1.5 per cent year on year during the first six months of 2012.

IAG Cargo managing director Steve Gunning said performance was impressive given the economic troubles permeating markets worldwide. "However, due to continued questions over the pace and consistency of economic recovery, we remain cautious about future performance," he said.

British Airways World Cargo's performance in July gave IAG Cargo executives reason for optimism with the carrier's tonnage increasing by 3.2 per cent over July 2011. So far this year, the cargo carrier's volumes are 1.4 per cent higher than those in the first seven months of 2011.

But such growth did not extend to Iberia Cargo, the smaller segment of the merged company, where freight volumes plunged 16.4 per cent year on year in July - a decrease even more marked than the 12.7 per cent year-on-year decline posted from January to July.