Etihad Cargo announces record number of figures

Etihad Cargo has posted record monthly revenues for November of $ 65.8 million, up 21.2% on the same period last year ($ 54.3 million).

The carrier lifted 32,633 tonnes of freight in the period, an 18.2% increase on November 2011 (27,628 tonnes).

The figures reflect the cargo operator’s continued upward momentum in what has been a record 2012 so far.

Etihad Airways’ chief strategy and planning officer, Kevin Knight, said: “2012 has been a great year for us. The latest impressive revenue and tonnage figures have been driven largely by strong sales out of Southern China and solid growth out of Europe and South East Asia.

“Yields have also held up compared to last year, and at the same time we have successfully grown volumes ahead of our capacity growth.”

The new service departs Texas’ largest city every Tuesday and Friday and is operated in conjunction with existing wet-lease partner Atlas Air Worldwide, using a Boeing 747-8 freighter.

Knight added: “Houston-Abu Dhabi will complement our existing bellyhold cargo capacity from Chicago and New York, and no doubt be a catalyst for strengthening the trade ties between our two countries.”

Analyst Saj Ahmad commented: “Etihad's passenger expansion is also yielded great cargo performance as well and with record freight carried last month, it comes as little surprise that its revenue growth has exceeded volume growth.

“Coupled with new services via a wet-leased 747-8 Freighter to Houston, Etihad is backing up its new US services with additional freight capacity to fill a void in the market that is poorly served.”

Ahmad added: “Despite the ongoing pressures of the wider cargo market, Etihad's performance shows that there are still plenty of opportunities for expansion and revenue generation.”