Etihad Airways secures wet lease to 2012

ETIHAD Airways continues the year with a fleet of six all-cargo aircraft thanks to the extension of wet lease contracts for two A300-600RF aircraft with Maximus Air Cargo until August 2012.
The national airline of the United Arab Emirates added two new A330-200 freighters last year to its existing fleet of four cargo-only aircraft. The additions have nurtured a 57.4 per cent rise in revenues for 2010 over 2009 figures.
Etihad has wet leased two regional freighters from Maximus since June 2009, operating both scheduled and charter services between the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, East Africa, and China.
“Etihad’s cargo operation is an increasingly important segment of the airline’s business,” Roy Kinnear, Etihad Airways’ senior vice-president of Crystal Cargo, remarks.
“Our growing passenger fleet offers enormous potential to carry increasing quantities of cargo between Abu Dhabi and the rest of the world. Our arrangement with Maximus provides an extra opportunity, supplementing the capacity available in the belly space of the Etihad fleet and on our own dedicated freighters.”
Etihad also carries cargo on its passenger flights to over 66 destinations worldwide.