IAG Cargo saw its revenues and volumes improve in the second quarter of the year but demand still lags pre-covid levels.
Revenues for the period grew by 13.6% year on year to €419m, while cargo tonne kms (CTK) improved by 72.8% on last year to 999m and tonnes carried increased 55.8% to 131,000 tonnes.
The increased volumes helped offset a yield decline for the quarter of 34.3% as prices surged a year ago due to PPE demand and the initial collapse in passenger operations.
The airline said that the improvement in revenues and volumes compared with last year come as a return to passenger flying boosted network availability, with Latin America and Europe experiencing a surge in activity.
"Activity from Spain to Latin America increased as a result, with additional frequencies to Sao Paolo and Mexico City and a resumption of services into Guayaquil and San Juan," the company said.
"E-commerce continued to be a major driver of activity in the quarter, with the business moving a diverse range of products from fashion and electronics to sporting equipment," the airline group said in a press release. "The quarter also saw a very significant increase in the movement of Italian wine into the US – 95,000 bottles."
The company also continued to operate a charter programme on top of its cargo-only schedule.
IAG conducted 1,371 cargo-only flights in the second quarter, up from 1,306 in quarter one.
Pre-Covid declines
However, while revenues are up on the second quarter pre-Covid (2019) level of €281m, volumes lag behind — two years ago the group carried 1.4bn CTK and 172,000 tonnes.
The volume decline comes as the airline's bellyhold network still remains below 2019 levels.
Elizabeth Haun, chief financial officer, said: “Q2 was an exciting quarter for IAG Cargo and delivered another set of strong results. We celebrated our 10 year anniversary in April and in June partnered with Kuehne+Nagel to source 1.2m litres of Sustainable Aviation Fuel, enough to power 16 flights across the Atlantic.
"IAG Cargo charters and cargo-only flights remained sought after in the quarter, and whilst we welcome the return to passenger flying especially out of Spain, we continue to be impacted by passenger restrictions in the UK and Ireland.”
