With just a few weeks left in 2014, Belgian carrier Brussels Airlines expects to report record-high cargo revenues this year, citing unprecedented demand for air freight services, especially on its African routes.
The carrier was one of the few that made the hard decision to maintain daily service to West Africa during the height of the Ebola virus outbreak this summer. While many other carriers were suspending regularly scheduled flights to the region, Brussels Airlines maintained service to cities of Monrovia, Liberia; Conakry, Guinea; and Freetown, Sierra Leone, during the crisis.
The carrier operates eight wide-body aircraft – three A330-200s and five A330-300s – along with thirty-eight narrow-body aircraft. But to keep up with demand for healthcare supplies to the stricken region, Brussels Airlines also chartered main-deck capacity on an MD-11F from Nigerian carrier Allied Air, with a base of operations in Belgium’s Liège Airport.
Cargo revenues, which traditionally represent about 6 to 7 percent of the carrier’s revenues, are expected to make up a significantly larger slice of the pie in 2014.
Financial data on 2014 will be determined in March 2015.