Air freight

After lockdown in March 2020, Air France and KLM continued operating by deploying passenger aircraft for cargo-only fl ights and offering repatriation fl ights to Europe, along with their fi ve-times-weekly Martinair Cargo fl ights. “The extra capacity deployed by the airlines came at an extra cost. Operating passenger planes to carry only cargo is a pricey operation if not supported by passenger revenues and is mostly deployed to sustain the industry where margins are very tight,” says Vigada.

Air freight keeping airlines afloat

The airline industry has taken a huge knock but air freight has kept many carriers airborne, says TREVOR CRIGHTON

The International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) data for global air freight shows that demand for air cargo decreased by 10.6 per cent in 2020 compared to 2019 – the largest drop in year-on-year demand since IATA started monitoring it in 1990. This fi gure outpaces the 6 per cent drop in the global goods trade.

In South Africa, average international air freight cargo handled at OR Tambo International Airport in February 2021 was 806 136kg per day, compared to 854 139kg per day in February 2020, according to Business Unity South Africa statistics. That volume was down to about 300 000kg a day in April 2020 and only recovered to above 800 000kg daily in the last week of January 2021. Pier Luigi Vigada, director Eastern and Southern Africa at Air France KLM Martinair Cargo, says that despite some positive results, the air freight

Pier Luigi industry was as affected Vigada as passenger services,

“Operating passenger planes to carry only cargo is a pricey operation if not supported by passenger revenues.” – Pier Luigi Vigada

CARGO FACTS

IATA data shows that: • Global demand in 2020, measured in cargo tonne-kilometres, was 10.6 per cent below 2019 levels. • Global capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometres, shrank by 23.3 per cent in 2020. This was more than double the contraction in demand. • Due to the lack of available capacity, cargo load factors rose 7.7 per cent in 2020.

and had to reinvent itself to ensure it could continue delivering to customers. “We had to face challenges at all levels, like customers not having enough staff to deliver to our warehouses, where we had to ensure working staff and environment were safe to operate and handle goods. Testing, disinfecting, sterilisation of goods and crew regulations were just some hurdles that soon became the norm for us.”

Capacity and costs

CFR Freight air freight director Stephen Bishop says that getting cargo in and out of South Africa became a huge challenge because the bulk of the country’s cargo is carried in the holds of passenger Stephen aircraft. When carriers Bishop stopped operating passenger fl ights under lockdown conditions, capacity dried up rapidly. “Ethiopian Airlines helped keep the country and the continent running, operating as our major connection to the rest of the world, particularly the Far East. While the cargo industry was deemed an essential service under lockdown, there were challenges with ground handling companies operating on skeleton staff and a myriad new COVID-19 protocols”.

According to Vigada, air freight costs fl uctuate alongside all other costs in relation to the supply-demand ratio. “Freight into South Africa comes from all over the globe, and pricing depends on where the cargo originates from and how constrained the capacity is on that leg – and, ultimately, on the capacity on the fi nal leg. The demand for capacity has been massive all over the world; both capacity and volumes are currently lower than they were back in 2019.”

Bishop says that in Q2 of 2020, they saw inbound freight pricing increase fi ve-fold, particularly from the East. “It was simple supply and demand economics – and prices remain two to three times higher now than they were before lockdown last year.”

DEDICATED CARGO FLIGHTS VS CARGO ON PASSENGER FLIGHTS

Pier Luigi Vigada, director Eastern and Southern Africa at Air France KLM Martinair Cargo, says that Air France KLM can carry up to 40 tonnes of goods on a cargo-only fl ight with a passenger aircraft, but recently set a record by loading 62 tonnes on a B777-300ER, which normally carries 15 tonnes when fi lled with passengers.

According CFR Freight air freight director Stephen Bishop, a dedicated cargo aircraft can transport upwards of 100 tonnes, so while converting or redeploying passenger aircraft to carry cargo is helping to keep the cargo world operating, it’s not ideal.