Dubai half year boost for Virgin Atlantic

Virgin Atlantic  Cargo carried over 30% more cargo from Dubai in the first half of 2015, boosted by additional US routes and frequencies, and traffic generated as a result of the US port disruptions.
For the six months ended June 2015, the airline carried 2,400 tonnes ex Dubai, compared with 1,800 tonnes for the same period a year ago. Strong increases were seen in the volume of cargo destined for London and beyond to the US.
The airline’s additional daily frequency to New York JFK and the launch of Virgin Atlantic’s new Atlanta route both contributed significantly to the increase.
John Lloyd, senior vice president cargo at Virgin Atlantic, said: “Given the intense level of competition in the region, our performance from Dubai in the opening six months of 2015 is very encouraging.
“Our increased capacity to the US has made a big difference and was particularly important during this period as customers looked for alternative routes into the US to avoid the port disruptions there.”
Lloyd continued: “We have also seen improvements in our service levels this year after they were impacted towards the end of 2014 during our ground handler’s relocation in Dubai.
"The result for the first half is testimony to our customers’ confidence in Virgin Atlantic’s seamless cargo connections through our London hub and our aim now is to maintain this for the rest of the year.”
In August 2014, Virgin Atlantic awarded a new GSA contract to Globe Air Cargo in Dubai to market the airline’s freight and courier express services in a move to simplify its freight and courier express sales for customers in the UAE and to take advantage of the Dubai market’s strong growth forecast.
Shiranka Leo, managing director of Globe Air Cargo in Dubai, said: “This was the commitment we offered to Virgin Atlantic when Globe Air Cargo was awarded the GSA contract last year. It did not take long to win confidence in the market and that paved the way to successfully fill all of the available capacity.”