News / Big three US airlines given a lift from gains in cargo business

Photo: United

The big three US airlines cruised into 2025 on strong gains in their core passenger segment, and were further buoyed by double-digit gains in their cargo business.

Delta clocked-up the biggest surge in cargo, with revenues in Q4 jumping 32% to $249m, which management attributed to strong demand for high-value and time-sensitive traffic.

And besides operational improvements, it cited the use of predictive analytics and enhanced tracking capabilities as major factors that improved handling efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Over the full year, Delta Cargo generated $822m in operating revenue, an increase of 14% over its 2023 tally. The airline’s overall (GAAP adjusted) revenues climbed 4% for the year, to a record $57bn, with operating revenue of $61.6bn.

In January last year, Delta Cargo launched a domestic door-to-door delivery service, targeting e-tailers, in collaboration with technology provider SmartKargo. This segment had shown “huge growth” for the carrier, it said.

United Airlines tabled a 29.6% rise in operating cargo revenues for Q4 24, to $521m, on a 10% increase in cargo revenue ton-miles. Moving nearly 589,670 tonnes last year, the cargo arm saw revenues for the full year climb 16.6%, to $1.74bn. Overall airline revenue was $57.1bn.

Network expansion has been a driver of increases in passenger and cargo revenues. In the fourth quarter, United added three international destinations and launched two international routes from its west coast hub in San Francisco, as well as announcing eight new international routes to network destinations for this summer’s schedule.

Management expects to serve more international destinations across the Atlantic and Pacific this year than all the other US carriers combined, with 800 daily flights to and from 147 destinations.

American Airlines boosted its total revenues to $54.2bn last year, with net income rising to $1.4bn. The airline increased its cargo revenues in Q4 by 10.5%, to $220m, which brought its tally for the full year to $804m, a decline of 0.9% from the $812m generated in 2023

“We’re very happy with the results, for the fourth quarter in particular. We’ve seen sequential revenue improvement throughout the year,” said Roger Samways, VP commercial, cargo.

The increased revenue in the final quarter was achieved on 7% lower capacity, he added, with the main drivers a strong Europe-to-US market, followed by northbound traffic out of Latin America. In terms of verticals, the life sciences market was particularly strong, generating about 30% growth in volume over 2023.

The airline has extended its CEIV accreditation for its JFK and San Juan stations and added cool space in London and New York.

Looking ahead, American will have more widebody capacity to fill, with 30 B787-9s on order, for delivery until 2029. This year Mr Samways expects about 4% more capacity, which will be deployed largely across the Pacific, followed by Latin America and the transatlantic market.

“We’re doing a bit less domestic widebody flying,” he said, although some widebody lift was necessary to connect American’s US hubs.

Moreover, interline business has assumed a greater role in American’s cargo activities, producing record revenue levels last year.

“We focus on working with like-minded carriers,” Mr Samways said, adding that American treats interline cargo in the same ways as bookings in its own network.

Last year online bookings – through American’s own platform, third-party portals, or API connections – broke through the 50% barrier. Delta Cargo is also moving to boost its digital sales, putting its capacity on the cargo.one platform this quarter, which will start with general cargo and be extended to other services. Last year, Delta ramped up its offering on the WebCargo platform, adding products and destinations.

These moves should give the carriers’ sales teams more time to discuss market developments and solutions with clients. With question marks over tariffs and potential trade wars, regulators considering ways to rein-in ecommerce and geopolitical tensions, there will be ample need for discussions on how to respond to developments.