flydubai renews air cargo management contract with Mercator

Government-owned low-cost carrier flydubai and logistic software provider Mercator inked a seven-year extension to their air cargo management contract. The renewal means that flydubai will continue using Mercator’s technology platform, providing cargo management and cargo revenue accounting services.

Mercator said it will provide the expertise and technology to upgrade flydubai’s Intelligent Cargo Ecosystem, an open-API portfolio of air cargo and ground handling applications with “end-to-end visibility” of cargo movements, designed to determine the most efficient delivery of goods to their destination.

Brendan McKittrick, CTO at Mercator, noted that it was important to, “meet the expanding expectations of air cargo with the technologies that provide greater transparency, predictability and, above all, the ability to simplify complex processes.”

flydubai doesn’t release its cargo volumes to IATA, however the carrier’s cargo and inflight sales contributed 13.8 percent of revenue in 2016, dropping from 15.1 percent from the previous year. flydubai also seems to be expanding its cargo capabilities, and Dubai World Central (DWC) is well positioned geographically and in terms of infrastructure for cargo. The carrier operates out of DXB, home to Emirates SkyCargo’s freight hub. The two carriers are both owned by the Dubai government.