Asia-Europe cargo and pharma prompt a ‘bright outlook’ at AirBridgeCargo

With the 10-month results coming in, 2017 is looking increasingly like a bumper year, with AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC) announcing that its 10-month volumes were up 15 percent, year-over-year, to 575,000 tonnes. ABC noted that all major markets saw growth, and the Moscow-based all-cargo carrier said that it expects similar results “through the end of the year.”

ABC’s load factor rose by 4 percentage points, y-o-y, with Q4 on track to hit a solid 71 percent over the 10-month period, even as the carrier brought on an additional 747-8 freighter in time for the fourth quarter, which Sergey Lazarev, general director for AirBridgeCargo Airlines, said ensured that the carrier would be able to accommodate impending demand increases.

ABC attributed its growth to its fleet-expansion strategy, new special-cargo solutions and the introduction of new destinations.

Some of the highlights so far this year are increasing bi-directional trade flows on the Europe-Asia lane, where exports from Europe to Asia neared the level of volumes from Asia to Europe, at 36 percent and 37 percent, respectively. ABC’s Moscow hub gives it a geographical advantage along this route, shaving thousands of kilometers off of routes through rival Middle Eastern hubs. It makes sense that these routes would account for the majority of the carrier’s business, and ABC is working hard to gain market share.

Other freight corridors posted significant y-o-y growth over the first 10 months as well, including Southeast Asia-North America, Southeast Asia-Europe, Europe-Japan and Korea and Europe-North America, which saw 53 percent, 52 percent, 49 percent and 23 percent increases, respectively, “not only for general cargo but for special commodities as well.”

ABC said that special cargo transportation demand was up as well, “specifically automotive spare parts from Europe to North America and aerospace equipment from Southeast Asia to North America.”

The airline posted impressive gains in special cargo, with temperature-controlled pharma shipments up by 153 percent, y-o-y, followed by off-sized and heavy cargo, up 32 percent, and e-commerce, up 22 percent.

“We have approached peak season and Q4 well-prepared, in terms of fleet availability, with recently deployed, brand-new Boeing 747-8F, which ensures we have sufficient capacity to accommodate additional volumes,” said Sergey Lazarev, general director for AirBridgeCargo Airlines.