Record year for American Airlines Cargo

American Airlines' cargo division recorded record air freight operations and record revenues in 2018. In total, last year the carrier can boast of 4.3 percent. an increase in air freight transport compared to 2017 to 2.9 billion tonnes, while revenues increased by 13.8%. compared to the previous year, exceeding USD 1 billion. Growth thanks to the good situation on the North American market

American Airlines Cargo's strong performance reflects the positive health of the North American air cargo market. As shown by the statistics of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), carriers from this region, compared to the same period last year, recorded 7.2 percent. increases in air freight transport in the first 11 months of 2018. Also in November alone, North America maintained the fastest rate of air cargo growth compared to the rest of the world. "The strength of the US economy and consumer spending have helped maintain demand for air cargo services over the past year, which has benefited US carriers," says the latest IATA report.

Good organization paid off
American Airlines Cargo, similarly to the cargo branch of PLL LOT, does not conduct separate air operations of cargo aircraft, using only the cargo space under the decks of scheduled passenger airplanes. This is particularly demanding operationally as the American Airlines fleet is very diverse and consists of 128 A319 airbuses, 48 ​​A320 airbuses, 219 A321 airbuses, 15 A330-200 airbuses, nine A330-300 airbuses, 304 Boeing 737-800s, 20 Boeing airbuses. 737 MAX 8, 34 Boeing 757, 24 Boeing 767-300, 47 Boeing 777-200, 20 Boeing 777-300, 20 Boeing 787-8, 20 Boeing 787-9, 20 E190 Embraers and 20 McDonnell Douglas MD-80 planes. In addition, American Airlines Cargo uses the cargo space in planes of regional airlines operating for American Airlines, in whose fleets we can find CRJ bombardiers (-200, -700 and -900 series) and E175, E140 and E145 embraers.

Despite these operational challenges, American Airlines Cargo was able to achieve record Flown As Booked (FAB) operations in 2018, even with increased air travel demand. According to the carrier's representatives, this trend continued until the end of the year - in six of the last seven months of the year, AA Cargo broke FAB records. - New routes, strategic offering management and excellent teamwork throughout the company allowed us to achieve the best annual freight data recorded in the entire history of the company - we read in the carrier's statement.

Last year, American Airlines also increased its cargo presence in Central and Eastern Europe, thanks to two new routes from Philadelphia to Budapest and Prague, launched seasonally in May. In addition, the Czech company Strike Aviation, which was selected by American Airlines Cargo as the general cargo commercial representative for cargo (GSSA) in Prague, also became an offline agent for Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia. Thus, the three countries have gained road connections with Prague and other American Airlines transit points in Europe.

Find more information here: American Airlines Cargo