Russian cargo carrier AirBridgeCargo moved more than 218,000 tonnes of freight in the first six months of 2015, an increase of 17 percent compared to the same period in 2014, as well as a 22 percent rise in freight tonne kilometers. ABC also reported a 67 percent freight load factor during the first half and a 17 percent increase in tonnage carried throughout its 27 destinations in 14 countries.
June 2015 tonnage was up 16 percent, year-over-year, and 5 percent higher than the growth rate in May. ABC said it had 26 percent growth in tonnage eastbound from Europe to China and 6 percent improvement westbound.
The carrier added 747F service from Frankfurt to Chicago, carrying more than 6,200 tonnes of cargo westbound between its European and North American gateways, which are Chicago, Dallas/Ft. Worth and Los Angeles. Service to Los Angeles was added in April. ABC carried more than 20,280 tonnes of freight from North American hubs to the rest of the world in the first six months of the year.
Based on these largely positive figures for 2015, Denis Ilin, ABC’s executive president, said ABC was “well placed” to add capacity to prepare for this year’s peak season. “We expect a stable rather than fantastic peak cargo season and we look forward to our volumes continuing to gain momentum towards the end of the year,” he said.
ABC makes more than 600 weekly connections via its hub at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow. The airline claims to have reduced its average delivery time between any two points in its network, connecting through the Moscow hub, to less than 48 hours, including time for ground handling.