“RJ has obviously been affected by the spikes in the fuel surcharges, but actually yearto- date we are about a third above previous year’s production and yields have been decently solid,” Ingo RoesslerVP Cargo told Payload Asia.
Helping sustain the volumes was a focus on marketing RJ’s freighters for charter missions, where the business has doubled over last year, he said.
RJ Cargo is the air freight network leader in the Middle East’s Levant region. From its hub at Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA) in Amman, it serves more than 28 airports throughout the Arab world and a further 22 points in Europe, the US and Asia.
It operates its Airbus A310 and B 737 freighters on schedule within the Middle East and Europe.
It also carries freight, courier packages and mail in the holds of Royal Jordanian’s wide-bodied passenger fl eet to Cairo, Jeddah, Riyadh, Detroit, Chicago, Delhi, Colombo, Hong-Kong and Bangkok and in the holds of the airline’s narrowbodied passenger aircraft to the 42 otherdestinations the group serves.
Fleet renewal
As part of its fleet renewal programme, RJ has been focusing on overhauling its fleet on the shorter routes introducing some smaller aircraft like Embraer 195/175 and Airbus 319 which has an impact on the cargo side as much less belly capacity is available.
The carrier has been receiving a few A319 aircraft this year and has a few A320 in the delivery pipe-line for the near future. A significant improvement in seat load factors has also put belly-hold cargo space at a premium.
Currently RJ’s cargo arm has a 50/50 split between bellyhold and maindeck cargo loading, but this will change slightly once the carrier begins taking delivery of its’ B787s. The carrier ordered 12 of the new aircraft which were originally scheduled for delivery from 2010.
“Currently we have to deal with the implications of the delay of the Boeing 787 delivery; with 12 aircraft on order this obviously has some serious ramifications on the mid-term and longterm planning,” Roessler said.
The introduction of the B787 Dreamliner will clearly benefit RJ Cargo on the mid-range trunk routes and the long-hauls, he notes, and “the delivery delays from the manufacturer are surely a nuisance in this context.”
In all the RJ Cargo expects to move around 65,000 tonnes this year.
Route development
While the current environment is leading carriers to contract their routes and service offerings to ride out the downturn, RJ Cargo is taking a cautious approach and looking at growth opportunities close to home.
“For the immediate term many carriers will have to consolidate their programmes and some over-capacity, in particular from aged equipment, will fortunately exit from the markets,” Roessler said. “We see good growth potential in the Middle East and Africa and are closely watching the market for growth opportunities”.
With little exposure to the China market, the issue of over-capacity there will have very little impact on RJ. Similarly the turmoil in the Indian market, with a surge of new cargo players coinciding with the oil shock and global downturn, will not be felt by RJ Cargo as the carrier has only a limited presence in the Indian market through its passenger network.
“The structure of our network and the relative distance to India do not make this a major focus for RJ despite of the long-term development opportunities,” he added.
RJ has opened a few new routes for passenger services this year including Kiev and Hong Kong on the long-haul.
And with airports in Europe vigorously competing in a bid to woo Asian and Middle Eastern cargo carriers, will RJ be tempted to add new services or hubs?
“Competition certainly is always welcomed for the market players and RJ is following the trends, however, we do not believe in ‘airport-hopping’ as some carriers have been practicing.
“Supply-chains are fragile and too frequent changes are undermining the product development. Still we keep the competition on the radar screen. Our move to Brussels in summer 2007 was a success story; RJ will even start serving Brussels with a passenger service from next summer,” according to Roessler.
Driving efficiencies
Another key project for RJ Cargo was the recent introduction of a new cargo IT solution “Cargospot” from Champ Cargosystems, which will go live 1 January, 2009 for the entire network.
The cargo carrier is also in the midst of completing the overhaul of its 17,000 square metre cargo terminal at QAIA where it handles its own cargo volumes along with that of some 30 international airline clients.
A third major milestone is also planned for next year with a brand-new ULD handling and storage facility slated to begin operations.
In the ever-important realm of cost cutting, RJ has implemented the IATA fuel savings scheme, which it says is realising significant cost saving benefits which not only responds to the demands for a reduction in CO2 emissions, but meeting commercial objectives as well.
RJ is also implementing internal schemes to improve waste management and other initiatives in order to meet environmental standards expected fromthe travelling public, the carrier said.
