Virgin cargo up in 2013

TRAFFIC from the United States to India, business gains in the US north-east and an increase in perishables traffic, all contributed to tonnage, revenue and market share gains for Virgin Atlantic Cargo last year.
The airline’s ability to offer fast connections over London to both Delhi and Mumbai also attracted strong customer support during 2013.
Cargo volumes from Miami to Delhi were up 50 per cent year-on-year, while US-origin cargo via London to Mumbai also recorded strong gains from both Atlanta and Miami, says Virgin.
Newark continues to be one of the airline’s strongest US routes, with revenue and tonnage from London up by 25 per cent and eastbound volumes growing by 60 per cent.
Cargo from New York JFK to London Heathrow climbed 20 per cent over the course of the year and shipments from Boston to the UK grew 17 per cent. Revenue between London and San Francisco rose 15 per cent.
Dan Parker, vice-president, commercial, at Virgin Atlantic Cargo, says: “The transatlantic market remains highly competitive but, for us, 2013 was a good year, with gains across our US destinations. Our total tonnage and revenue from the UK to the USA was 10 per cent up year-on-year.”
Perishables traffic contributed strongly to the result, notably fish shipments to Vancouver and San Francisco.
“We were also successful in gaining more business is Europe for our North American services, with Milan and Paris now in our top-15 origin stations for freight going to the USA,” Parker adds.
“Looking ahead to the prospects for 2014, we expect the market to remain steady and do not expect any big increases or decreases in shipment levels.”