AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC) saw cargo volumes rise by 17.6 per cent in 2014 to 401,000 tonnes, up from 2013 when it handled 340,000 tonnes.
In the first quarter of 2014, ABC handled 86,500 tonnes, which was up by nine per cent on the same period of 2013. The carrier handled 188,354 tonnes in the first half of 2014, a year-on-year improvement of 16 per cent. In the first nine months of 2014, ABC saw volumes rise by 14 per cent to 290,735 tonnes.
ABC executive president, Denis Ilin, says: “ABC has been able to grow consistently with a compound growth rate of 11 per cent over the last five years. We have earned our customers’ trust by providing them with a reliable service.”
The ABC load factor was 72.6 per cent in 2014, slightly above 2013 when it was 72 per cent and higher than the industry average of 45.6 per cent. In the first quarter the load factor was 71 per cent, increasing to 72 per cent in the first half of 2014. In the first nine months of 2014 it dipped again to 71 per cent.
In October, the airline added a new Boeing 747-8 Freighter to its fleet, its sixth 747-8F. ABC has a fleet of 13 Boeing 747, consisting of six 747-8F, four Boeing 747-400 extended range freighters and three Boeing 747-400F. When adding the new 747-8F in October, Ilin said: “It is our sixth Boeing 747-8F and ABC has already experienced the outstanding payload and operating economics of the 747-8 family.”
ABC has been added new routes throughout 2014 starting with twice weekly flights to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport in March via Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. At the same time it added an extra weekly flight to Chicago O’Hare International Airport. In April, ABC added flights to Leipzig-Halle Airport and Malmo Airport. In May the airline started weekly flights to Franz Josef Strauss Airport, which it increased to twice-weekly in October. In September, ABC also started weekly flights to EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg in Switzerland.
The airline has increased existing services throughout 2014. In October its Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport to Narita International Airport to Incheon International Airport was increased to thrice weekly. Services were increased to the US in November with two extra flights a week to Chicago and one to Dallas Fort Worth. In Asia, ABC added extra weekly services to Shanghai Pudong International Airport and Hong Kong International Airport. In Europe, one extra flight a week was added to both Amsterdam and Milan (Italy).
