Tariffs for air transportation in key directions in February slowed down, but remain significantly higher than last year

The latest statistics from the Baltic Exchange Air Freight Index (BAI) show that average prices across major destinations in February 2021 remained virtually unchanged compared to January.

For the month, the growth did not exceed 2.5%, but in annual terms it ranges from 100 to 145%.

I will give specific examples. Average prices from Hong Kong to North America in February reached $ 4.52 per kg, which is $ 0.07 per kg higher than in January. Air fares from Hong Kong to Europe increased to $ 4.40 per kg from $ 4.28 per kg in January. On flights from Frankfurt to North America, average rates in February were in line with January levels at $ 6.42 per kg.

In general, compared to the same period last year, average rates increased by 70.6%. This lags behind the annual growth recorded in North America, but consumer demand in Europe has not recovered as much as in the US. Yearly comparisons at this time of year depend on the time of the Chinese New Year, and last year was also a leap year.

Typically, rates early in the year tend to decline gradually from their peak in November-December, slowly begin to recover in the summer, and then rise rapidly later in the third quarter before eventually peaking in the fourth quarter. This year the market is more dynamic, the ratio of supply and demand is more balanced than in the past.

The BAI is an indicator of the state of the air travel market based on a basket of 17 key routes and 6 departure airports. The data are compiled by Baltic Exchange Information Services, with the TAC Index acting as the settlement agent.

The global trends are carefully studied by the specialists of the ZetAvia airline, which specializes in the transportation of heavy and oversized equipment, fragile and valuable cargo, as well as in the transportation of animals to the countries of the Middle East, Europe and Africa.

Oleg Sergeev