AirBridge maintains its momentum

Russian-owned all-cargo carrier AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC) continued its solid growth with an increase of 15% in cargo carried in the first ten months of 2017, to 575,000 tonnes.
It reported an upsurge in all major markets and a positive outlook through to the end of the year. The load factor rose 4% year on year, at 71%.
ABC said its volumes were boosted by bi-directional trade flows between Europe and Asia, with exports from Europe to Asia approaching that of the traditionally stronger Asia to Europe level.
Other freight corridors demonstrating significant growth were south-east Asia-North America, south-east Asia-Europe, Europe-Japan/Korea and Europe-North America, which saw 53%, 52%, 49% and 23% increases respectively.
These were not only for general cargo but for special commodities — including car spares from Europe to North America and aerospace equipment from South East Asia to North America.
Along with the economic upturn, ABC attributed a major part of its growth to the development of its centralised sales structure, complimented by regional expertise, instead of relying on a GSA network, able to offer 24/7 availability.
The airline also achieved strong gains in special cargoes, with temperature-controlled pharma shipments heading the list (+153%), followed by off-size and heavy (+32%), e-commerce (+22%) and dangerous goods (+10%).
ABC has been developing product structures with dedicated and qualified staff which has helped to reinforce handling procedures and control processes. As a pure freight carrier, ABC can carry traffic restricted by passenger carriers, such as out-of-gauge cargoes and dangerous goods.
ABC general director, Sergey Lazarev, said: “We have approached peak season and the fourth quarter well prepared in terms of fleet availability with (our) brand new Boeing 747-8F, which ensures we have sufficient capacity to accommodate additional volumes.
"Our well balanced network and newly-integrated destinations provide extensive connections…through our hub in Moscow Sheremetyevo airport. Throughout 2017 we have been engaged in a constant dialogue with our customers, bolstering our product development in line with ABC’s network expansion, whilst improving the quality of our services and optimizing costs.”
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