AirBridgeCargo (ABC) Airlines handled 290,735 tonnes of cargo in the first nine months of 2014, up 14 per cent on the same period last year.
The average load factor up to 30 September was 71 per cent. In the first quarter of 2014 it carried 86,500 tonnes of cargo and in the first half it transported 188,354 tonnes of freight.
Throughout 2014 ABC has added a number of new routes to its network including Basel (Switzerland), Dallas Fort Worth (US), Malmo (Sweden) and Leipzig and Munich (both Germany). It has increased the frequency of flights to Seoul and Tokyo, which it says is because of increasing consumer demand in the automotive sector.
ABC executive president, Denis Ilin says: “As a global airline operating in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific, we are not immune from the downturn in international economies. However, this has challenged us to focus even more on developing and implementing new business opportunities and solutions that have given us a platform for growth.”
The carrier will be launching additional flights to Munich, Milan (Italy), Amsterdam, Hong Kong and Shanghai (both China), Chicago (US) and Dallas as part of its 2014/15 winter schedule. It has also added a Boeing 747-8 Freighter to its fleet, which brings its total fleet of 747s to 13, consisting of six 747-8Fs, four Boeing 747-400 extended range freighters and three Boeing 747-400 Freighters. On delivery of the newest aircraft, Ilin says: “ABC has already experienced the outstanding payload and operating economics of the 747-8 family. We are really excited to celebrate this most recent addition to our fleet of Boeing 747s.”
