Strong increases in the volume of cargo destined for London and beyond, to the United States, helped buoy Virgin Atlantic Cargo’s shipments from its hub in Dubai by 33 percent, year-over-year, in the first half of 2015. That success was also boosted by additional U.S routes and frequencies, and traffic generated as a result of the U.S. port disruptions earlier this year.
For the six months ended June 30, the airline carried 2,400 tonnes via Dubai, compared to 1,800 tonnes for the same period a year ago. The airline’s additional daily frequency to New York’s JFK and the launch of its new Atlanta route both contributed significantly to the increase, Virgin Atlantic said.
“Given the intense level of competition in the region, our performance from Dubai in the opening six months of 2015 is very encouraging,” said John Lloyd, senior vice president, cargo. “Our increased capacity to the U.S. has made a big difference and was particularly important during this period as customers looked for alternative routes into the U.S. to avoid the port disruptions there.”
Virgin Atlantic has been operating from Dubai for more than nine years. Its daily A330-300 flights each offer some 20 tonnes of cargo capacity. Access to Virgin Atlantic’s 11 U.S destinations from London is particularly popular with customers moving goods from Dubai, as well as the airline’s trucking services to other key cities across North America.
In August 2014, Virgin Atlantic awarded a GSA contract to Globe Air Cargo in Dubai to market the airline’s freight and courier express shipments.