UAESNAPSHOT F E A T U R E NEWSBRIEFS


PEGASUS AIRLINES has appointed Dubai-based Leisure Cargo FZCO as its new general sales agent for cargo in the Middle East, Africa and the Indian sub-continent. Aydin Alpa, vice president cargo of Pegasus Airlines, said: “We are delighted to announce an expansion to our service network via Leisure Cargo FZCO, which has an active network in the region.”


CUSTOMS inspectors at Dubai International’s Cargo Village suc- cessfully foiled a bid to smuggle 9.9kg (21.8lbs) of opium. According to local news sources, the drugs were contained in a shipment of 42 handbags in transit from an Asian country.


New routes drive freight growth


in the cargo department to improve our freight offering,” continued Kerr.


E


tihad’s new service to the Chinese city of Guangzhou (see story below) is intended to “complement our existing product in China,” said Eithad Cargo’s vice president, David Kerr


China is a strong market for Etihad; its hub in Abu Dhabi leaves it well-placed to facilitate the trade routes springing up between China and a number of destinations in the African market. At present, Etihad runs routes out of Nairobi, Johannesburg, Lagos and Addis Ababa. “The African market is promising and we find ourselves with the good fortune to be geograph- ically and strategically well placed to serve it, particularly as trade picks up between the conti- nent and our existing markets, including China,” said Kerr.


Outside of Etihad’s operations in China and Africa, the carrier will be launching three new passenger routes


in 2013, with


Ho Chi Minh, Washington DC, and Sao Paulo. Etihad Cargo will also be adding a second frequency to its service in Damman, Saudi Arabia.


“These new passenger services will allow us


Three new freighter aircraft will be brought into the fold at Etihad Cargo, with two new 777Fs due in January and May. Later on in the year, an Airbus A330 will be joining the fleet — Etihad was the launch customer for this model in 2010. “2012 was a good year for us. Volumes grew at a faster rate than yields, all assisted by an expanding customer base. To cap off the year for us, Etihad Cargo had an all-time record month in December,” he said. Off the back of this, Kerr predicts strong growth for the forthcoming year: “We are opti- mistic that market conditions will improve over the next 12 months. In the last 12 we have seen a stable market, with no movement either in terms of growth or decline. “However, this year we expect to see growth return due to improvements in key markets and key trade lanes,” he concluded.


KERR-


Convinced market will improve this year


Etihad flies freighter to Guangzhou


ETIHAD Cargo inaugurat- ed a new direct weekly freighter operation from Abu Dhabi to the south- ern Chinese city of Guangzhou on 17 Janu- ary. It will operate every Thursday using a 68- tonne capacity A330-200 freighter. Guangzhou, the third largest city in China, is a major centre for elec- tronics manufacturing. Etihad already operates nine weekly freighter ser-


vices between Abu Dhabi and the Chinese cities of Shanghai and Beijing, as well as cargo capacity on its 18 weekly scheduled passenger services to Beijing, Chengdu and Shanghai.


The carrier’s chief strategy and planning officer, Kevin Knight, said the new Guang-


zhou-Abu Dhabi freighter “will allow us to capitalise on the strong export demand coming out of southern China. In addition, we expect to see strong onward trade flows over our Abu Dhabi cargo hub to destinations across the Middle East and Africa”.


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ACW 21 JANUARY 2013


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