AirBridgeCargo (ABC) reported a 16% surge in volumes during the first half of the year, boosted by particularly strong demand across its Asia Pacific network.
In total, the scheduled all-cargo carrier saw volumes reach 335,000 tonnes during the first six months, while traffic was up 13% in freight tonne km terms. These improvements helped the carrier improve its cargo load factor by four percentage points on last year to 71%.
The carrier increased its 17-strong fleet during the period, adding a tenth Boeing B747-8F, allowing it to expand its network in the Asia Pacific region.
"The launch of twice-weekly services to Taipei marked the doubling of the airline’s online network in the region over the last two years to 12 destinations; Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore, Hanoi, Phnom Penh, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Zhengzhou and now Taipei," ABC said.
The carrier added that it had seen high demand for cargo capacity to and from Taipei, particularly for the delivery of hi-tech products, and is now carrying some 1,000 tonnes a month on the route.
Overall, the airline’s business to and from Asia Pacific rose by over 20% in the six months.
ABC general director Sergey Lazarev said: “We have a very clear strategy that is all about listening to the needs of our customers in terms of the routes and products they want us to offer.
"This is reflected in their support of our growing network in Asia Pacific as well as their increasing use of our special products for pharma and off-size cargoes. In addition, through continued investment in our modern fleet, we are demonstrating to our customers that ABC is a high quality, long-term partner.”
In terms of sectors, pharma and out-sized traffic performed well. The carrier is the first Russian airline to achieve IATA's CEIV pharma certification.
Last year, the airline was the world's 13th busiest cargo airline according to statistics from IATA.
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