Record Performance at Etihad Cargo in November 2014

Etihad Cargo achieved an all-time record in November when it carried 53,292 tonnes across its global network, an increase on its previous monthly record of 51,688 tonnes carried in October and up 7% on the same month last year.

Etihad Cargo’s total uplift for 2014 is forecast to top 570,000 tonnes, a 17% increase on 2013.

This performance, based on strong market demand, the expansion of its global reach, and the smooth handling operations at its hub in Abu Dhabi, has already enabled Etihad Cargo to secure over US$ 1 billion in revenue to-date.

Etihad Cargo has significantly enhanced its global reach by offering bellyhold capacity on 10 new passenger destinations launched across Etihad Airways’ fast growing network during the year. These include Medina, Jaipur, Los Angeles, Zurich, Yerevan, Rome, Perth, Phuket, Dallas and San Francisco, bringing to 90 the total number of passenger destinations on which cargo services are currently provided.

During the year Etihad Cargo also expanded its freighter services to several new markets to capitalise on the strong import and export demands between global financial centres and the emerging markets. This included the introduction of new weekly services to Dar es Salaam and Entebbe in East Africa, a three-times-a- week service to Hanoi in Vietnam, and a twice-weekly service to Moscow in Russia.

This brings the number of freighter-only destinations currently operated by Etihad Cargo to 15, with other routes including: Chittagong, Djibouti, Dubai World Central, Eldoret, Guangzhou, Houston, Kabul, Miami, Quito, Sharjah and Viracopos.

Etihad Cargo also launched a new twice-a-week freighter service from Milan to Bogotá, Colombia, and from Bogotá to Amsterdam, following a partnership agreement signed with Avianca Cargo, the cargo division of leading Latin American carrier Avianca.

A key success factor has been Etihad Cargo’s ability to further extend its global reach through the network expansion of its codeshare partners, which enables it to provide additional bellyhold space on airberlin’s new passenger services from Berlin and Stuttgart to its hub in Abu Dhabi, and on NIKI’s new service from Vienna.

It also includes Air Seychelles’ new services from Mahé to/from Mumbai (India), Antananarivo (Madagascar) and Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), in addition to existing direct services from Seychelles to Johannesburg, Mauritius and via Abu Dhabi to Paris and Hong Kong.

Kevin Knight, Etihad Airways’ Chief Strategy and Planning Officer, said, “Our business continues to grow as we work with our global partners to provide customers with a fully integrated global cargo solution. By working together, we are able to achieve greater capacity utilisation on our growing fleet of freighter aircraft, provide more bellyhold capacity across an extended passenger network, and, importantly, further develop our well-performing charter business.”

Mr Knight said: “We have seen strong growth in cargo volumes over the last year, and particularly to and from Asia and Africa as we continue to leverage the strategic location of our hub in Abu Dhabi to provide a link between the mature markets and emerging economies around the world. Our focus during 2014 has been to open up cargo services to a greater number of world destinations, increase frequencies on key cargo routes, and ultimately, continue to offer our customers greater choice and flexibility when it comes to doing business with us. Our endeavors are paying off and we are continuing to outperform the industry. 2014 promises to be a record year for Etihad Cargo, and I am confident that the growth we have sustained over the last year will provide the platform for further growth during 2015.”

Etihad Cargo took delivery of two new freighter aircraft during the year. This included an A330-200F aircraft, and the placement of a third Boeing 747-400 freighter from Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Inc. The aircraft have a range of 7,400 kms and 8,240 kms respectively, and a combined payload capacity of nearly 200 tonnes. This brings to 10, Etihad Cargo’s freighter fleet which consists of four Airbus A330-200F, three Boeing B777F, and three Boeing 747F aircraft.

See also: HD Video of Airbus A330-200F.