In Europe, Russia's largest scheduled cargo airline, an important part of the Volga-Dnepr Group portfolio, has launched extra weekly frequencies to/from Munich, Milan and Amsterdam. In Asia, AirBridgeCargo has also increased flights to/from Hong Kong and Shanghaiwith an extra service per week on both routes. ABC has also extended its capacity for customers in North America with two additional flights a week to Chicago and one to Dallas/Fort Worth.
The success of ABC’s business development activities, reflected in its strong operating results, has enabled the airline to further increase its footprint on its existing markets. In the first nine months of 2014, ABC saw an increase in tonnage carried on all of its routes in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific, with flown tonnage to/from the USA, Asia and Europe growing by 28%, 14% and 13% respectively over this period. The highest growth rate was seen on North America-Europe routes with a 77% growth in tonnage. Volumes from the U.S. to Amsterdam doubled over this period. The airline has also seen stable growth from the U.S. to Germany, which reflects strong customer support since the launch of direct flights from the U.S. to Frankfurt and new services to Munichlaunched earlier this year. ABC’s volumes from the U.S. to Frankfurt rose 26% in the nine months to 30 September 2014.
Denis Ilin, Executive President of AirBridgeCargo, said: “We operate all-cargo services on the world's largest trans-regional cargo markets and these Increased Boeing 747 freighter frequencies will enhance trade flows between each region at a time when we are achieving strong growth in demand, and give our customers better access to point-to-point deliveries within our global route network. Moreover, we are matching capacity with demand on these routes. Our FTK grew by 16.5%, surpassing the capacity growth.”
ABC’s growth in 2014, the introduction of new routes and frequencies, and the growth in its B747 fleet to 13 aircraft with the delivery of its sixth Boeing 747-8 Freighter further secure its strong position in the global air cargo market. The airline is also one of the leading carriers in the Europe-Asia trans-regional market and is the number one foreign airline for tonnage in Amsterdam and Frankfurt. The airline's short-term development plans are to continue its focus on the U.S. market, supported by the increased number of aircraft, and further expansion on other trans-regional markets.
ABC currently operates flights to 25 major trade destinations in 11 countries. With increased frequencies, the airline is continuing to improve its product offering and now offers 63 point-to-point connections for its U.S. customers, 375 point-to-point connections for European customers and 324 point-to-point delivery options for customers in Asia. All operations are performed via ABC's hub at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport.
