Emirates says cargo slump soon over, eyes recovery

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - Dubai airline Emirates believes the slump in global freight traffic is near a bottom and is optimistic signs of recovery will emerge next year, a senior official said Thursday.

Global air freight traffic_often seen as a barometer of world trade_contracted in the April-September period and is likely to slow for the rest of the year before the market stabilizes, said Ram Menen, the carrier's divisional senior vice-president for cargo.

Lower fuel prices, a stronger U.S. dollar, unprecedented government efforts to battle the global economic crisis as well as decreased freight capacity by airlines in recent months will help boost the air cargo industry next year, he said.

"We are a bit more optimistic than anyone else. We (believe) we have now bottomed out. We are now scraping the bottom of the barrel. In the next 8 to 12 months, we should see signs of recovery," he told the Associated Press on the sidelines of an air cargo forum.

He didn't say if recovery would also be seen in passenger traffic.

Emirates SkyCargo is ranked eighth biggest in terms of freight tonnes carried. Last fiscal year, its cargo traffic rose 11 percent to 1.3 million tonnes to generate $1.8 billion in revenue or 19 percent of the airline's total revenue.

Menem said Asia contributed about half of Emirates cargo business, with Hong Kong and China as its largest markets.

He said Emirates has ordered 18 new planes to be delivered over the next four years to strengthen its cargo fleet. It now has 8 freighter planes, some of which will be phased out.

The International Air Transport Association recently warned that airline industry losses may be higher than its projection of $5.2 billion this year after passenger and cargo traffic suffered an alarming decline in September.

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