| Top 50 Cargo Airline Ranking - 1998 | |||||||||
| Ranking 1998 | Airline | Country | Cargo Traffic | Cargo share Total RTK's | Cargo revenue $ million | Cargo share of revenue | Cargo yield USC/RTK | Period End | |
| RTK million | Change | ||||||||
| 1 | Federal Express | USA | 9,988 | 9.9% | 100.0% | 15,872.8 | 100.0% | n/a | Dec 98 |
| 2 | Lufthansa | Germany | 6,696 | 2.2% | 48.5% | n/a | n/a | 1.99 | Dec 98 |
| 3 | United Parcel Service | USA | 5,575 | 12.6% | 99.5% | n/a | n/a | 35.82 | Dec 98 |
| 4 | Korean Air | South Korea | 5,225 | -8.6% | 63.2% | 1,210.0 | 27.2% | 23.16 | Dec 98 |
| 5 | Singapore Airlines | Singapore | 4,919 | 2.7% | 45.7% | n/a | n/a | n/a | Dec 98 |
| 6 | United Airlines | USA | 4,767 | 14.1% | 20.9% | 913.0 | 5.2% | 19.15 | Dec 98 |
| 7 | Air France | France | 4,595 | -7.1% | 40.0% | 1,145.4 | 11.2% | 24.93 | Dec 98 |
| 8 | British Airways | UK | 4,277 | 2.3% | 25.4% | 929.4 | 6.3% | 21.73 | Mar 99 |
| 9 | Japan Airlines | Japan | 4,088 | -1.2% | 35.9% | 1,209.9 | 13.4% | 29.60 | Dec 98 |
| 10 | KLM | Netherlands | 3,885 | -1.7% | 40.3% | 976.9 | 14.4% | 25.15 | Mar 99 |
| 11 | Cathay Pacific | Hong Kong | 3,297 | -7.6% | 47.4% | 908.9 | 26.4% | 27.57 | Dec 98 |
| 12 | American Airlines | USA | 3,176 | -2.8% | 16.8% | 656.0 | 4.0% | 20.65 | Dec 98 |
| 13 | Northwest Airlines | USA | 3,145 | -14.4% | 24.6% | 633.5 | 7.0% | 20.14 | Dec 98 |
| 14 | China Airlines | Taiwan | 2,871 | -1.7% | 61.1% | 524.0 | 33.7% | 18.25 | Dec 98 |
| 15 | Delta Air Lines | USA | 2,764 | 13.0% | 15.6% | 569.0 | 4.0% | 20.59 | Dec 98 |
| 16 | Cargolux | Luxembourg | 2,687 | 11.3% | 100.0% | 578.0 | 100.0% | 21.51 | Dec 98 |
| 17 | EVA Air | Taiwan | 2,543 | 20.0% | 62.9% | 508.9 | 39.6% | 20.01 | Dec 98 |
| 18 | Swissair | Switzerland | 2,518 | 60.6% | 57.2% | n/a | n/a | n/a | Dec 98 |
| 19 | Nippon Cargo Airlines | Japan | 1,898 | 0.7% | 100.0% | 531.4 | 96.3% | 28.00 | Dec 98 |
| 20 | Martinair Holland | Netherlands | 1,817 | 1.8% | 67.8% | n/a | n/a | n/a | Dec 98 |
| 21 | Asiana Airlines | South Korea | 1,778 | -10.6% | 63.7% | 273.8 | 24.9% | 15.40 | Dec 98 |
| 22 | Qantas | Australia | 1,761 | 4.2% | 25.0% | 371.9 | 6.7% | 21.12 | Jun 98 |
| 23 | Airborne Express (ABX Air) | USA | 1,631 | 75.4% | 100.0% | 1,630.8 | 53.0% | 99.99 | Dec 98 |
| 24 | Thai Airways International | Thailand | 1,548 | -7.4% | 33.8% | 413.6 | 16.5% | 26.72 | Dec 98 |
| 25 | Continental Airlines | USA | 1,533 | 27.3% | 16.4% | 275.0 | 3.5% | 17.94 | Dec 98 |
| 26 | Emery Worldwide | USA | 1,526 | 12.6% | 100.0% | n/a | n/a | n/a | Dec 98 |
| 27 | Alitalia | Italy | 1,522 | 3.4% | 30.2% | 454.0 | 8.4% | 29.83 | Dec 98 |
| 28 | Polar Air Cargo | USA | 1,469 | 12.4% | 100.0% | 309.4 | 100.0% | 21.06 | Dec 98 |
| 29 | Malaysia Airlines | Malaysia | 1,464 | -1.9% | 37.2% | 278.4 | 16.1% | 19.01 | Dec 98 |
| 30 | All Nippon Airways | Japan | 1,446 | 6.2% | 22.8% | 618.1 | 8.2% | 42.75 | Mar 99 |
| 31 | Varig | Brazil | 1,292 | -5.1% | 33.9% | n/a | n/a | n/a | Dec 98 |
| 32 | LanChile | Chile | 1,204 | 27.7% | 63.4% | 298.8 | 32.4% | 24.81 | Dec 98 |
| 33 | El Al | Israel | 1,196 | -1.2% | 51.2% | n/a | n/a | n/a | Dec 98 |
| 34 | Air China | China | 1,070 | 42.9% | 45.0% | n/a | n/a | n/a | Dec 98 |
| 35 | Evergreen Int'l Airlines | USA | 962 | 0.0% | 100.0% | 304.0 | 97.1% | 31.60 | Feb 98 |
| 36 | Saudi Arabian Airlines | Saudi Arabia | 934 | -1.1% | 35.3% | n/a | n/a | n/a | Dec 98 |
| 37 | Emirates | UAE | 830 | 9.6% | 38.5% | 160.0 | 13.2% | 19.28 | Mar 99 |
| 38 | Air New Zealand | New Zealand | 821 | 3.1% | 31.6% | 212.8 | 11.7% | 25.92 | Dec 98 |
| 39 | Iberia Airlines | Spain | 813 | -1.9% | 21.7% | 236.6 | 5.5% | 29.10 | Dec 98 |
| 40 | SAS | Sweden | 803 | 7.9% | 30.0% | 464.0 | 9.0% | 57.78 | Dec 98 |
| 41 | Virgin Atlantic Airways | UK | 780 | 28.5% | 28.2% | 138.5 | 10.3% | 17.76 | Apr 98 |
| 42 | Canadian Airlines Int'l | Canada | 680 | -8.5% | 21.9% | 149.8 | 7.0% | 22.02 | Dec 98 |
| 43 | DHL Airways | USA | 584 | 3.7% | 100.0% | n/a | n/a | n/a | Dec 98 |
| 44 | Pakistan Int'l Airlines | Pakistan | 570 | 33.8% | 21.4% | 122.7 | 10.1% | 21.53 | Dec 98 |
| 45 | Aeroflot | Russia | 513 | -5.9% | 25.7% | n/a | n/a | n/a | Dec 98 |
| 46 | China Eastern Airlines | China | 491 | 22.4% | 33.9% | 151.0 | 14.3% | 30.75 | Dec 98 |
| 47 | Philippine Airlines | Philippines | 481 | 19.1% | 22.4% | n/a | n/a | n/a | Mar 98 |
| 48 | China Southern Airlines | China | 431 | 23.1% | 22.5% | n/a | n/a | n/a | Dec 98 |
| 49 | Gulf Air | Bahrain | 418 | 8.3% | 29.3% | n/a | n/a | n/a | Dec 98 |
| 50 | Air-India | India | 399 | -3.9% | 26.6% | n/a | n/a | n/a | Mar 99 |
Source: Air Transport Intelligence, IATA WATS, Back information services/Form 41, company reports. Notes: All figures are for individual airline operations, not groups. FedEx, UPS and DHL are included on this basis but similar figures are not available for TNT. Charter carriers which operate solely or largely on behalf of other airlines have generally been excluded from the listing to avoid double counting. This includes Atlas Air and Kitty Hawk.
Source: Airline Business
