Air freight demand solid in Jan, yields under pressure: IATA

[BERLIN] Demand for global air freight rose at its fastest pace since April 2015 in January, but with capacity rising, yields and load factors remain under pressure, the International Air Transport Association said on Monday.

Demand for air freight, measured in freight tonne kilometres, rose 2.7 per cent in January, IATA said in its monthly traffic data. "Despite this good start, the underlying weak trade performance makes it unlikely that growth will accelerate significantly in the coming months," the association said.

Available capacity rose 7 per cent in the month, faster than demand, meaning that load factors - how full planes are - fell 1.8 percentage points to 41.3 per cent. "It is good news that volumes are growing, but yields and revenues are still under tremendous pressure," IATA head Tony Tyler said in a statement.

REUTERS