Etihad Cargo sees 17% rise in freight

Etihad Cargo, the freight division of UAE's flag carrier Etihad Airways, has forecast that the total uplift for 2014 will top 570,000 tonnes, a 17 per cent increase on 2013.
The airline also claimed that it had secured over US$1 billion (Dh3.67 billion) in revenues by the end of November 2014.
In November, Etihad Cargo carried 53,292 tonnes cargoes across its global network, an all-time record in one month for the airline.
This was an increase on its previous monthly record of 51,688 tonnes carried in October, up seven per cent on the same month last year.
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.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.”
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.”
Etihad Cargo took delivery of two new freighter aircraft during the year, including an A330-200F aircraft, and the placement of a third Boeing 747-400 freighter from Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings. –
Source: Emirates 24/7