Bruce Barnard, Special Correspondent | Jan 16, 2012 11:33AM EST
Etihad Crystal Cargo’s freight traffic soared 18 percent in 2011 from a year ago as the fast-growing Abu Dhabi-based carrier boosted its capacity and added new freighter routes.
The state-owned Etihad Airways cargo unit said strong growth out of Europe, particularly from Germany and Europe, helped boost volume to 310,188 metric tons.
“We launched freighter services into Amsterdam, Cairo, Djibouti, Kabul and Kandahar during the year, increased operations to our key markets of China and India while growing Johannesburg by up to three freighters a week,” said James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ chief executive.
Etihad Crystal introduced its first 777 freighter during the year and placed an order for a further two aircraft in December that will join its fleet in 2013. The carrier also flies two Airbus A300-600 regional freighters, two A330-200 cargo planes and a couple of MD-11 leased from World Airways.
-- Contact Bruce Barnard at brucebarnard47@hotmail.com.
