AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC) has continued with its expansion and mar-ket growth plans during the past few years. The carrier has shown remark-able tonnage and revenue increases as well
as steady market expansion in almost all corners of the world.
The trend seems to be continuing into 2017.
First quarter figures surpass expectations
A total of 158,000 tonnes of air freight were uplifted by the Russian cargo carrier in the first three months of this year.
This represents a 17% increase over the same period in 2016.
Furthermore, the airline reported a load factor of 70% for the same period.
ABC now operates a total of seventeen Boeing 747 freighters of which ten are the B747-8F version. The tenth 747-8F having recently been delivered directly from the Boeing factory.
High demand for European exports coupled with growing Asian network
These seems to be the two main factors which are contributing to AirBridgeCargo’s continued success.
The carrier reports that exports from Europe are in high demand and that this has enabled them to increase tonnage from the region by 22% in Q1. The exports to Asia alone rose by 24%.
Services to the United States have also increased with ABC now operating 30 flights a week to Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and Seattle.
Tonnages carried on the carrier’s Asian network rose considerably by 19% between January and March this year and ABC launched a new service to Taipei, adding to their present eleven destinations
in the Far East.
Special products boost volumes
Interestingly enough, the demand for outsized cargo shipments has increased according to ABC. The first three months saw an increase of 15% on large and bulky shipments carried by
AirBridge.
However, the main special product increase was in the pharmaceutical field. Here the airline reports an increase of 70% compared to 2016, with demand growing even further.
AirBridgeCargo’s General Director, Sergey Lazarev stated that “our growth in the first quarter of 2017 is a combination of several factors. Firstly we are enjoying general market improvement, but
we are also seeing the benefits of our product development strategy, which has been implemented to ensure we comply with our customer’s expectations.
If ABC’s growth continues unabated, then maybe it won’t be too long before the fleet increases to 20 B747 freighters!
John Mc Donagh
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