LOSSES for Air France-KLM's cargo business have deepened in the second quarter ending September 30, at a decline of US$50.3 million from $9.5 million profit in same period 2010, drawn from revenue of $1.05 billion.

    The Franco-Dutch airline forecasts a calendar-year loss following a quarterly profit decline overall of $540 million from $783 million, a 31 per cent decline. Poor performance was attributed to a spiralling fuel bill of US$290 million, an increase of 14 per cent year on year.

    October continued the bleak picture for cargo with a 5.2 per cent decline alongside tightening freighter capacity, only 17 of its 22 freighters were in operation and the cargo load factor dropped four percentage points to 66.3 per cent.

    In contrast, passenger traffic increased by 5.7 per cent with load factor up marginally at 0.3 per cent to 83.9 per cent in the month of October.

(source:http://www.shippingonline.cn/news/newsList.asp?classname=News)