Tag Archives: Etihad Cargo

Etihad Cargo to offer additional bellyhold capacity to New York

Etihad Cargo, the cargo and logistics arm of Etihad Aviation Group, has reinforced its commitment to the US market with the introduction of an additional 50 tonnes of belly capacity via four new weekly direct passenger flights to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) from 15 November 2022. With the addition of these flights, the carrier will offer a total of 11 weekly flights between Abu Dhabi and New York.

In addition to offering 11 weekly flights to JFK, New York, Etihad Cargo provides capacity to other key destinations in the US via freighter and passenger flights to Chicago and Washington D.C. The carrier operates nine flights per week to Chicago O’Hare International Airport and daily flights to Dulles International Airport, Washington. The introduction of additional capacity to Etihad Cargo’s winter schedule brings the total cargo capacity into and out of the US to 1,084 tonnes per week.

Existing daily services will continue on Etihad’s new Airbus 350 aircraft, which has been deployed on the New York route since June 2022. The new flights will be operated with a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. These aircraft types are two of the most efficient in the world, providing significantly less fuel burn and CO2 emissions than previous-generation twin-aisle aircraft. Etihad Cargo also operates two dedicated Boeing 777 freighter flights per week to Chicago via Europe, supported by an offline network.

Etihad Airways aircraft photo gallery:

Etihad Airways firms up its order for seven Airbus A350F freighters

Etihad Airways has firmed up its order with Airbus for seven new generation A350F freighters, following its earlier commitment announced at the Singapore Airshow. The freighters will upgrade Etihad’s freight capacity by deploying the most efficient cargo aircraft available in the market.

This order of the A350F sees the national carrier of the UAE expanding its relationship with Airbus, and adding to its existing order of the largest passenger version of A350-1000s, five of which have been delivered.

Etihad has also firmed up a long term agreement for Airbus’ Flight Hour Services (FHS) to support its entire A350 fleet, to maintain aircraft performance and optimise reliability. This marks the first agreement for an Airbus FHS contract for an A350-fleet in the Middle East. Separately, Etihad has also opted for Airbus’ Skywise Health Monitoring, allowing the airline to access real-time management of aircraft events and troubleshooting, saving time and decreasing the cost of unscheduled maintenance.

More than 70% of the airframe of the A350F is made of advanced materials, resulting in a 30 ton lighter take-off weight and generating at least 20% lower fuel consumption and emissions over its current closest competitor. The A350F fully meets ICAO’s enhanced CO₂ emissions standards coming into effect in 2027. Including today’s commitment the A350F has won 31 firm orders by six customers.

The A350F meets the imminent wave of large freighter replacements and the evolving environmental requirements, shaping the future of air freight. The A350F will be powered by the latest technology, fuel-efficient Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines.

Etihad Airways aircraft photo gallery:

Etihad Cargo posts record mid-year revenue

Etihad Cargo, the cargo and logistics arm of Etihad Aviation Group, has announced record-breaking results for the first half of 2022, achieving year-on-year revenue growth of 6 per cent compared to H1 2021 and contributing 35 per cent of Etihad Aviation Group’s operating revenue.

In addition to recording an increase in overall revenue, Etihad Cargo maintained a strong Delivered as Promised rate of 86 per cent, a 2 per cent increase compared to its 2021 full-year results, along with an 83 per cent freighter On Time Performance (OTP) rate despite the challenging handling environment across the network.

Etihad Cargo saw growth across a number of premium products in the first half of 2022. For example, the performance of PharmaLife, Etihad Cargo’s award-winning, dedicated pharmaceutical shipment solution, increased by 46 per cent compared to H1 2021.

Contributing to this growth have been the new developments Etihad Cargo has launched to enhance its PharmaLife capabilities, including improved thermal covers that dramatically increase the protection of pharmaceutical cargo during aircraft loading and offloading. Etihad Cargo also posted a 52 per cent increase in the performance of its LiveAnimals product, for which the carrier was awarded International Air Transport Association (IATA)’s Center of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) Live Animals certification in 2022.

Etihad Cargo also reported an 81 per cent electronic airway bill penetration rate, demonstrating the carrier’s continued investment in digitalisation. To further enhance its customers’ booking journey, Etihad Cargo added more features to its new online booking portal in 2021, which resulted in 57 per cent more bookings made via the portal. The carrier also launched a Mandarin version of its website and booking portal, cementing Etihad Cargo’s strategic footprint in China. This key market contributes over 20 per cent of the carrier’s operations.

As part of Etihad Aviation Group’s vision to achieve net zero emissions by 2050, Etihad Cargo has embarked on several sustainability projects. The carrier entered into an agreement with B Medical Systems to develop and launch the industry’s first airline-specific passive temperature-controlled container units for the transportation of pharmaceuticals. Etihad Cargo has also replaced original aluminium unit load device (ULD) containers with environmentally friendly, lightweight ULDs, which can provide a weight-saving of over 200 kilogrammes, lowering fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions.

Etihad Cargo’s network currently offers cargo capacity to 79 destinations across Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and the Americas with 564 weekly rotations. The carrier also operates charter flights and utilises an extensive road feeder service network to service demand across non-network destinations. The carrier has been recogised for its performance and contribution to the wider air cargo industry, winning several awards including Air Cargo Operator of the Year at the Logistics Middle East Awards, Most Innovative Air Cargo Airline at the Transport & Logistics Middle East Innovation Awards, Cargo Airline and Air Cargo Pharma Service of the Year at the Aviation Achievement Awards and Sustainable Air Cargo Airline of the Year – Asia and Middle East at the Frieghtweek Sustainability Awards.

Etihad aircraft photo gallery:

Etihad Cargo posts 49% revenue growth for 2021

Etihad Cargo, the cargo and logistics arm of the Etihad Aviation Group, has achieved record revenue growth of 49 per cent in 2021 as it continued to outperform expectations with a 27 per cent year-on-year increase in freight carried, contributing towards 55 per cent of the group’s revenue.

“2021 was a milestone year for Etihad Cargo,” said Martin Drew, Senior Vice President Sales & Cargo, Etihad Aviation Group. “The Etihad Cargo team has worked closer than ever with partners and customers to address their demands and allocate necessary capacity, resulting in a record tonnage of 729,200 tonnes – the highest since 2017.”

In Q1, Etihad Cargo temporarily modified five Boeing 777 aircraft to support cabin-loaded cargo, operating more than 800 charter and scheduled cargo flights in the new configuration in 2021, adding capacity along key strategic routes. By mid-2021, Etihad Cargo had announced the recovery of more than 90 per cent of its network compared to pre-COVID. In total, the carrier operated more than 6,000 passenger freighters throughout the year, with freighter utilisation averaging 16.5 hours.

Premium products have also seen remarkable growth: PharmaLife, the carrier’s award-winning pharmaceutical shipment solution, achieved a 85 per cent increase in revenue on 2020, while FreshForward, for transporting perishables, increased by 26 per cent. With the relaxation of travel restrictions, SkyStable, the carrier’s dedicated equine transportation solution, grew by 28 per cent, and SafeGuard, for transporting valuables, increased by 103 percent compared to 2020.

Despite the ongoing operational challenges imposed by new variants of the COVID-19 virus, the UAE national carrier also maintained a Delivered As Promise (DAP) rate of 84 per cent through the past 12 months and an on-time performance (OTP) of 84 per cent.

Over the past year, Etihad Cargo continued to facilitate critical COVID-19 vaccine distribution which contributes to 30 per cent of its pharmaceutical shipments. Jointly with its partners at the HOPE Consortium, over 250 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been handled to over 40 countries. In addition, several initiatives have been launched to facilitate the distribution and to position Abu Dhabi as a pharmaceutical and live science hub including establishing the first pharmaceutical distribution corridor between Abu Dhabi and Belgium. The corridor will facilitate the quick delivery of vaccines and meet future life science needs. The carrier is also working in tandem with UNICEF to transport aid globally following the signing of a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support the UN agency’s Humanitarian Airfreight Initiative.

Investing in digitalization has continued to be a key enabler to success. Augmenting customer service was a key focus of 2021 and Etihad Cargo’s new online booking portal was developed following extensive customer workshops to address their requirements, reducing the booking time to just 45 seconds. Since its launch in October, the company has recorded 36% increase in online bookings within three months of launching the new portal. In addition, the carrier has announced exploring a proof of concept with SPEEDCARGO for using Artificial Intelligence to measure cargo dimensions and optimize space planning, which will in turn allow Etihad Cargo to improve capacity planning.

Video: Atlas Air’s Boeing 747-47UF N476MC in Etihad’s new colors

Top: New Video from Etihad Airways.

Below: Another new video from Etihad Airways profiling one of the Airbus A380 captains.

Atlas Air starts operating a Boeing 747-800F freighter for Etihad Cargo, Miami becomes part of the round-the-world cargo route

Atlas Air (New York) on May 30 started operating its newest Boeing 747-800F for Etihad Cargo (formerly Etihad Crystal Cargo) (Etihad Airways) (Abu Dhabi). The fully-painted freighter will operate twice-weekly cargo services to and from Miami.

Etihad Airways announced its new round-the-world cargo flight:

The jointly operated routing began on May 30, connecting Etihad Cargo’s Abu Dhabi hub with destinations in Asia, the United States, South America and Europe.

Miami (US), Viracopos (Brazil), and Quito (Ecuador) will become part the round-the-world Abu Dhabi-Hong Kong-Chicago O’Hare-Miami-Viracopos-Quito-Amsterdam-Abu Dhabi freighter service offered with an Etihad Cargo-liveried Boeing 747-8F Freighter.

Earlier this month, Etihad Cargo signed a signed a multi-year Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance and Insurance (ACMI) agreement with Atlas Air to provide the Boeing 747-8F Freighter with its 138-ton cargo capacity to operate the new schedule.

The three new freighter destinations in the Americas will see Etihad Cargo’s network extend to 92 points across the globe. The carrier’s eight freighters operate to 28 of these destinations.

The Boeing 747-8F Freighter is the largest in Etihad Cargo’s current freighter fleet. The airline also operates three Boeing 777Fs, one Boeing 747-400ERF, one Boeing 747-400F and two Airbus A330-200Fs.

Etihad Cargo will take delivery of two additional freighters in 2013 and 2014, comprising two Airbus A330-200Fs.

Atlas Air previously made this announcement in May:

The 8th Boeing 747-800F freighter will fly on behalf of Etihad Cargo, the cargo arm of Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates, pursuant to a multi-year aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance agreement that commences in May 2013.

The new contract between the companies follows a letter of intent announced on April 1, 2013, and complements an existing Boeing 747-400F ACMI arrangement between Atlas and Etihad. The aircraft will be operated in full Etihad Cargo livery.

Copyright Photo: Michael Bolden. The pictured Boeing 747-87UF N855GT (msn 37567) was delivered to Atlas Air on May 18, 2013. The Jumbo Freighter prepares to depart from Miami on its twice-weekly round-the-world cargo route.

Atlas Air: