Etihad Cargo uplifted record tonnage across the globe in April and May, thus pushing the carrier into the list of top 10 performing global air cargo operators, based on monthly WorldACD carrier rankings.

Part of UAE flag carrier, Etihad Cargo moved 44,730 tonnes of cargo around the world in April, 30 per cent more than last year's 34,352 tonnes.

The month of May also saw impressive cargo tonnage flown across Etihad Cargo’s network with 48,869 tonnes of freight carried, up 31 per cent on May 2013 (37,403 tonnes), and an increase of nine per cent on the previous month.

The figures reflect Etihad Cargo’s continued upward momentum in what has been a strong performing first half period to date.

Kevin Knight, Etihad Airways’ chief strategy and planning officer, said: "Moving onto the list of world’s top 10 is a great achievement and our intention is to continue building our business, create value for our partners, and support our customers."

"The impressive figures for April and May were driven by a combination of factors, including better capacity utilisation on routes to and from the Netherlands, United States and India, more bellyhold capacity to and from Munich, New York and Chengdu, enhanced scheduling, optimised connections, and a robust charter business," he explained.

“We also improved our global market share by meeting and exceeding the needs of our customers.  Looking ahead, our growth projections for the remainder of 2014 are on track," stated Knight.

“At the end of this month we will take delivery of a fourth Airbus A330-200 freighter and, in the second half of 2014, have access to more bellyhold capability when 10 passenger aircraft are added to the fleet, routes to five new passenger destinations are launched, and frequencies to existing points are increased,” he added.

Earlier this month Etihad Cargo began offering bellyhold freight capability on Etihad Airways’ new daily services to Zurich and Los Angeles.

In addition, in May a new weekly maindeck freighter service linking Abu Dhabi and Entebbe commenced, a month when freighter services to Almaty, Bangalore and Beijing were also increased to three times per week.-TradeArabia News Service