Joining Etihad Cargo as the airline’s new Vice President Cargo, Stanislas Brun, is looking to build on the carrier’s “tremendous momentum” over the last few years in the cargo sector, paired with a strong performance on the passenger side.
As a combination carrier, Etihad Cargo offers both partners and customers bellyhold capacity on board passenger flights, supported by freighters to key markets. Being able to provide increased capacity has enabled the carrier to meet the demand across a variety of sectors, including e-commerce and pharmaceuticals.
“In the 20 years since its establishment, Etihad Cargo has built a strong reputation for delivering on its promises, putting our customers first and consistently investing in and enhancing our footprint and product offering,” Brun told Air Cargo Week in his first interview since taking on the new role.
“In the coming months, remaining customer-centric and working closely with our customers and partners will remain a priority to ensure we keep our customers at the centre of our development and continue to deliver exceptional service quality.
READ: Etihad Airways appoints Vice President Cargo to drive growth
“I will work closely with our team and partners to execute short, mid and long-term plans to achieve our ambitious growth targets, including developing new cargo hub infrastructure at Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi.
“Another one of my focuses will be continuing to form and nurture strategic alliances and partnerships, as well as further developing synergies within our extensive global network.
“My experience is deeply rooted in cargo, and I will dedicate my time to steering the cargo business, listening to our customers and preparing for the future. This focus will enable us to continue being agile, being proactive to dynamic market conditions and identifying opportunities to add value to our partnerships.”
READ: Etihad Cargo’s new airfreight chief eyes opportunity
Etihad’s ethos
Looking at the carrier’s operations, there are two elements that Brun believes ensure Etihad Cargo stands out in a competitive market: A commitment to being the cargo partner of choice and giving flight to ambition.
“To achieve these goals, Etihad Cargo has developed a nine-strong premium product portfolio in addition to offering world-class general cargo services. Our current focus verticals, and where we have significantly enhanced our capabilities, are in the transportation of pharmaceuticals and life sciences products via our PharmaLife product and perishables with our FreshForward product,” Brun highlighted.
“We have also become experts at handling other types of specialised cargo, such as electronics and technology, and we have invested in this area with the launch of our CEIV Li-batt-certified SecureTech product.
“This has put us in a great position to respond to the surge in e-commerce, and signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with SF Airlines back in 2023 and adding Guangzhou and Ezhou to our network has further enhanced our capabilities in this booming market.
“We will be announcing more developments in due course, but everything we do will remain true to my mantra, which is getting closer to our customers.