IAG Cargo has reported commercial revenues of €290m for the third quarter, an increase of 8.1% on 2017 at constant exchange.

Overall yield for July 1 to September 30 period was up 9.3% at constant exchange. Sold tonnes were down 0.5% and CTK volumes were down 1% whilst capacity grew by 3.9%.

Chief executive Lynne Embleton said: “This quarter we have continued to see positive revenue growth, which has been driven in part by sustained growth in our Constant Climate and Critical products, as well as healthy regional demand out of Asia Pacific. Our continued growth over the course of 2018 is encouraging as we approach peak season and the year’s end.”

She said the recently announced service to Pittsburgh will bring the total number of US gateways served by IAG Cargo to 26. From April next year, this service will be the only direct flight between Pittsburgh and the UK.

“We continue to invest in innovation and the digitisation of our business. We recently announced the finalists in our Hangar 51 global innovation accelerator programme. This year is the first year we have had a cargo specific category, and we are collaborating with several highly innovative start-ups over the coming months and discovering how they can help us to advance the cargo industry.

“Going into the final months of 2018 our focus remains on investing in our operations and delivering an excellent service for our customers over the busiest period in the air cargo calendar.”

IAG Cargo is the single business created following the merger of British Airways World Cargo and Iberia Cargo in April 2011. Following the integration of additional airlines into the business, including Aer Lingus, Vueling and bmi, IAG Cargo now covers a global network of over 350 destinations.