Air France KLM Martinair Cargo (AFKLMP) experienced a drop in revenues in 2024, despite an increase in cargo traffic and volumes, due in part to its limited exposure to the fast-growing Asia market.
The airline’s cargo division reported a 3.9% decline in full-year revenues to €722 million, while cargo volumes grew by 4.1% to 911,000 tons and cargo traffic increased by 4.2% to 6.8 billion revenue ton-kilometers (RTKs).
The cargo load factor improved by 1.1 percentage points to 47.7%, while capacity expanded by 1.8%. However, revenue per available ton-kilometer (ATK) dropped 2.6% to €13.92 cents.
Limited Exposure to Asia Impacts Performance
Air France KLM Group noted that while the overall air cargo market saw rapid growth out of Asia in 2024, its limited presence in the region prevented it from fully capitalizing on this demand.
However, as the year progressed, AFKLMP adjusted its freighter network, adding more capacity to Asia. In September, KLM reintroduced freighter flights to Hong Kong after a nine-year absence, with further capacity increases planned for the Asia-Pacific market.
The airline’s performance was also affected by challenges in rolling out a new IT system.
“Growth was mainly driven by e-commerce, combined with relatively tight capacity. Geopolitical tensions around the Red Sea and ocean shipping disruptions further elevated demand, particularly in Asia,” the carrier stated.
“During the first half of the year, the Group was limited in its ability to benefit from these market trends, due to relatively low capacity in Asia and payload restrictions stemming from the Russian airspace closure.”
Stronger Fourth-Quarter Performance
As additional freighter capacity was deployed to the Asia-Pacific region, AFKLMP’s performance improved in the latter half of the year.
- Fourth-quarter revenues rose 10.9%
- Volumes increased by 6.2%
- Revenue per ATK surged by 20.4%
Despite these improvements, AFKLMP’s full-year revenue performance lagged behind key European competitors. Lufthansa Cargo reported a 10% revenue increase, while IAG Cargo saw 6.7% growth.
To further enhance its presence in Asia, AFKLMP has continued to expand its freighter operations in 2024, including the decision to suspend freighter flights to Harare, Zimbabwe, in favor of redeploying capacity to Asia-Pacific markets.