ABC continues cargo growth with strong May performance

AirBridge Cargo extended its strong performance in 2016, reporting a 31 percent tonnage increase, year-over-year, in May.

The Moscow-based all-cargo airline increased- its freight tonnes kilometer totals for the month by 21 percent, y-o-y, and 24 percent for the first five months of 2016, compared to the same previous period. ABC carried 50,482 tonnes of cargo in May 2016, and 238,154 tonnes for the first five months of the year.

Executive president Denis Ilin attributed the latest numbers to new services and destinations, with the airline recently adding Houston and Abu Dhabi to its list of destinations. AirBridge is also pushing into Africa through partnerships. In April, AirBridge teamed up with CargoLogic Air on a service to London Stansted via Frankfurt to Libreville and onto Johannesburg, returning to Stansted via Nairobi.  Ilin also noted that the latest numbers were posted in spite of a “tough market. Despite flat market conditions and depressive yields,” he noted, “we have seen confident support from our clients, which has bolstered our operations.”

Earlier this month, the airline also added its sixth Chinese destination, offering twice-weekly flights to Chongqing. In May, AirBridge launched a weekly U.S.-Europe-Middle East-Russia service to cater to the oil-and-gas industry.