For the players in the airline market, this is one of the rare satisfactions of the period of crisis that the sector is still going through. Since the start of the pandemic, in the spring of 2020, air freight has spectacularly started to rise again. A boom pointed out by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which explains that the transport of goods could even break records this year.
Cargo revenue is forecast to peak at $ 175 billion (around € 150.3 billion) in 2021, while air freight volumes are expected to exceed 2019 average level by 8%. , the last year before the crisis. In 2022, IATA expects 5% growth in volumes transported.
“Since March 2020, says Marc Rochet, president of Air Caraïbes, the holds of wide-body aircraft, notably the Airbus A350s and the Boeing 777s, were well filled at price points sympathetic to the airlines. We did a good business. “
According to him, there is “Two main reasons” to these good deals. “First of all, as there were fewer passenger planes flying, there were consequently fewer holds available, so those that were on the market were well filled”, he analyzes. Air Caraïbes, his company, “Only flew four flights to Guadeloupe in times of crisis instead of ten in normal times”. During this period, “Passenger traffic fell by 40% compared to 2019, while freight traffic remained stable and even increased”.
Thousands of small packages
The real – and structural – boom in freight is intimately linked to the “Development of e-commerce”. “An explosion no longer in weight but in volume”, which fills the cargo planes. Thousands of small packages ordered by consumers eager to receive them asap. Airlines welcome the popularity of Internet commerce. “ It will continue to develop. The ships are saturated, so air freight will continue to develop ”, rejoices M. Rochet.
“The delays in the sea benefit the air”, confirms Christophe Boucher, Deputy Managing Director in charge of cargo at Air France. So much so that freight is becoming more and more important in the turnover of companies. At Air France, he went from “8% before the crisis has almost 20% today on average”, says the leader. A global phenomenon that benefits all carriers. This is the case with Singapore Airlines, which saw its freight activity jump by 54%; while it weighed 15% of its turnover before the Covid-19, it now represents 25%.
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