ABC Reports Record Tonnage in 2014

Volga Dnepr’s line-haul arm AirBridge Cargo flew against the trend last year. While the business of most Russian carriers contracted in 2014, ABC at the same time enjoyed a remarkable upswing in sales.  The carrier’s helmsman Denis Ilin speaks of a milestone reached by his airline right on time for the company’s 10th anniversary. He added that ABC has been able to up its sales consistently with a compound annual growth rate of 11 percent over the last 5 years. Ilin went on to say: “We have earned our customer’s trust by providing them with a reliable service, delivered by one of the youngest and most modern freighter fleets in the industry” and by providing the capacity ABC’s clients asked for in order to grow their global business, Denis noted. 

Quick reactions to changes
In 2014, the airline’s key strategy was to respond quickly to market changes, while maintaining operational reliability, in particular through investing in improved processes at ABC’s main gateway Moscow Sheremetyevo (SVO). Simultaneously, the Volga-Dnepr Group member kept upgrading its freighter fleet by adding a sixth Boeing 747-8F to its fleet. In total, ABC operates 13 Boeing 747 freighters, six of the new generation and seven 747-400Fs. 

More point-point flights
Also, the carrier expanded its reach by offering clients more point-to-point services within its network. These include flights to Dallas/Fort Worth, Leipzig, Munich, Basel and Malmo. At the same time ABC upped frequencies on established routes such as Chicago, Amsterdam, Milan, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul or Shanghai, offering customers in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific an even wider choice of routes and frequencies. According to a today published release (25 January), ABC currently offers 218 scheduled freighter flights a week to 11 countries and more than 400 connections with a delivery time within 48 hours on almost all of its origin-destination pairs via its hub in Moscow-Sheremetyevo.
Manager Ilin comments by saying: “Customer loyalty and support, together with close monitoring of market changes and our ability to react quickly to both challenges and new opportunities, allowed us in 2014 to remain highly competitive and grow our business in what is still a highly turbulent air cargo environment.”

Looking beyond the fence
In 2015, ABC aims to further increase its reach by adding new destinations to its network and to tap into niche or even short-term project business opportunities. The manager went on to say that the geographical location of ABC’s Moscow hub positions the carrier perfectly to introduce services to literally any point in Europe and beyond. He concluded that the global market will remain challenging in 2015 “but I look forward with confidence that we will keep pace with the demand and opportunities that exist for us.”
Information about profit or loss Mr Ilien has not provided. 

Heiner Siegmund