Heavy-lift specialist, Maximus Air Cargo appears to be immune from the global economic crisis with a more than doubling of its turnover for the 2008 over the previous year. Maximus chaulked up total sales revenue of US$110.8 million up 134 per cent from the US$47.3 million a year earlier, driven by what it said was an expansion in fleet capacity and consistent dispatch reliability. Freight-tonne kilometres flown during the year grew to 347,785 ¨C up 156 per cent from 135,996 in 2007. Hours flown followed a similar pattern, up 137 per cent from 3,687 to 8,744. The airline is now on target to hit sales of $130 million in 2009, according to president and chief executive Fathi Hilal Buhazza. ¡°We have achieved exceptional growth during 2008 and the upward trend-line is even steeper for 2009 as we continue to secure additional short and medium term aircraft wetlease contracts,¡± he said. During 2008, Abu Dhabi Aviation acquired a 95 per cent stake in Maximus which then became a privately-held limited liability company, part of the group that controls Abu Dhabi Aviation and Royal Jet. Maximus has a fleet of eight all-cargo Antonov An-124-100, Airbus A300-600RF, Ilyushin IL-76TD, and Lockheed Hercules L382G aircraft operating across the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Maximus is currently flying humanitarian aid to conflict-ridden Sudan, delivering a total of about 4,000 tonnes of relief supplies to Khartoum, including food, shelter, and medicine.