Korean Air Cargo’s cargo traffic fell 4.9% year-on-year to approximately 2.9 billion FTKs in the fourth quarter of 2015, according to official figures.
The total load factor for the last three months of 2015 was 77.8%, a year-on-year drop of 2.5 percentage points.
China’s share of the carrier’s traffic increased by 12%, while Oceania and Europe went up by 9% and 2% respectively. On the other hand, the Americas dropped 11%, while Japan and Southeast Asia fell by 5% and 4% respectively.
Cargo revenue was down across all regions of Korean’s network compared to the fourth quarter of 2014, with the Americas recording the largest decrease at 25%.
For 2016, the airline plans to grow capacity by 2.3% and traffic by 4.8%. This will partly come from one new Boeing 747-8 Freighter and four new 777 Freighters this year, as well as new opportunities in markets such as Colombia, Ecuador and Iran. Profitability will also be improved by transporting high-yield cargo such as mail, fresh produce and pharmaceutical products, according to Korean Air.
The carrier currently has a freighter fleet of nine 747-400Fs, eight 747-400ERFs, six 747-8Fs and five 777Fs.