American Airlines reported a dip in cargo revenues last year, despite an increase in freight volumes, while its major US competitors saw positive growth in the same period.
The Dallas-Fort Worth-based carrier announced cargo revenues of $804 million for 2024, marking a slight decrease of 0.9% compared to 2023.
In contrast, the airline’s freight volumes, measured in cargo ton miles (CTM), rose by 12.3% year-on-year, reaching 2.1 billion CTM. However, despite the increase in volumes, cargo yields per ton mile dropped by 11.8%, falling to 38.92 cents.
On a more positive note, American Airlines saw improved revenue performance as the year progressed. In the fourth quarter, cargo revenues grew by 10.5% year-over-year to $220 million, and cargo traffic rose by 5% to 526 million CTM.
In comparison, United Airlines reported a 16.6% rise in cargo revenues to $1.7 billion, along with a 14.1% increase in cargo traffic to 3.6 billion CTM. Delta Air Lines also saw positive results, with cargo revenues climbing 14% to $822 million.
For the entire year of 2024, American Airlines posted a profit of $846 million, trailing behind Delta’s $3.5 billion and United’s $3.1 billion in full-year profits.
In response to these challenges, American has been actively restructuring its cost framework and domestic network in an effort to remain competitive.
Overall, the airline’s group operating revenues rose by 2%, reaching $54.2 billion.