AirBridgeCargo Airlines has reported a 15 per cent growth in its airfreight volumes in February, transporting over 37,000 tonnes across its global route network in Asia, Europe, North America and Russia. The airline’s FTK rose three per cent over the same month last year when the airline saw an extraordinary demand for air cargo services due to the strikes at US ports.
Particular growth was reported on North America-Europe routes, where ABC doubled its cargo traffic year-on-year. In terms of the nature of cargo, ABC enjoyed stable demand in its flower traffic in February. The airline performed nine special flights for customers onboard its modern Boeing 747 freighters to satisfy peaks in demand ahead of St. Valentine’s Day on February 14th and International Women’s Day on March 8th. The freshly cut roses were transported from Ecuador to the cities of Amsterdam, Karaganda and Ekaterinburg, Novosibirsk and Khabarovsk.
“As a specialist flower supplier, we require high on-time performance and a lot of flexibility from our logistics partners. For example, flowers that are harvested by a farmer on a Wednesday, and are then bought by us on Thursday, have to be repacked and ready to go on sale in shops on Friday afternoon. So, we demand delivery times within 72 hours and we trust AirBridgeCargo to consistently achieve this level of service,” said one of the airline’s long-time transportation partners.
Alexander Roschupkin, commercial director of ABC, commented: “Our team will continue developing the airline’s tailored service for its customers, including those from the flower industry. In February, AirBridgeCargo commenced services to Africa where we see growing volumes of exported perishables, including plants.
“We also see increasing need for air cargo services in other markets such as Latin America and plan to further expand the airline’s offering by providing international customers with a wider choice of routes across the airline’s international network and with special solutions to satisfy their airfreight needs.
