John Lloyd, Director of Virgin Cargo, commented;
'The air cargo industry has never seen a dip like the one experienced in 2008/9. We were quick to take action and as a result, although our revenues and tonnage declined 19% and 6% respectively, we managed our way through the downturn far better than most other carriers and suffered considerably less impact.
'This result was achieved by undertaking difficult but necessary cost control measures, the rationalisation of capacity in the marketplace, and improved conditions in quarters three and four, particularly pre-Christmas and from the Far East.'
In the first quarter of the new financial year Virgin Atlantic Cargo has seen substantial growth in revenues of over 36%, driven by a 25% increase in tonnage. The airline has also seen healthy yield improvement in the first few months of 2010/11, reflecting the total airfreight market.
John Lloyd warned however that the recovery could be destabilised by excess capacity in the market;
'The challenge now, with capacity rising again in many markets, is to ensure the industry maintains and builds upon this demand by taking sensible decisions on capacity.'
Virgin Atlantic Cargo expects a series of factors to contribute to growth in 2010/11, including V Australia's increased flying programme, an upturn in volume and yields to and from its markets in the Americas and Caribbean, Africa, India, the UAE, Asia and Australia, and improvements in revenue management operations.
