Etihad Cargo, the freight division of UAE flag carrier Etihad Airways, said it achieved an all-time record in November carrying 53,292 tonnes across its global network in one month.

This is 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’s total uplift for 2014 is forecast to top 570,000 tonnes, a 17 per cent increase on 2013, said a statement from the UAE airline.

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 $1 billion in revenue to-date, it stated.

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 Madinah (Saudi Arabia), Jaipur (India), Los Angeles, Dallas and San Francisco (US), Zurich (Switzerland), Yerevan (Armenia), Rome (Italy), Perth (Australia) and Phuket (Thailand), 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 (Vietnam) and a twice-weekly service to Moscow (Russia).  

This brings the number of freighter-only destinations currently operated by Etihad Cargo to 15, with other routes including: Chittagong (Bangladesh), Djibouti (Afrcia), Dubai World Central and Sharjah (UAE), Eldoret (Kenya), Guangzhou (China), Houston and Miami (US), Kabul (Afghanistan), Quito (Equador) and Viracopos (Brazil), said the UAE airline in its statement.

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

Kevin Knight, the chief strategy and planning officer at Etihad Airways, 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," stated Knight.

“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," he added.-TradeArabia News Service