Etihad Cargo surpasses operational targets in 2022
Achieves 80% on-time performance (OTP) for freighter departures and 84% OTP for freighter arrivals, ahead of 80% target
Etihad Cargo, the cargo and logistics arm of Etihad Aviation Group, exceeded its operational performance targets in 2022.
"The carrier achieved 80.5 percent on-time-performance (OTP) for freighter departures and 84.1 percent OTP for freighter arrivals, ahead of its 80 percent target. The carrier has also maintained a delivered-as-promised (DAP) rate of 86.6 percent, a 2.6 percent improvement compared to the previous year and over its target of 85 percent," says an official release.
Martin Drew, Senior Vice President – Global Sales & Cargo, Etihad Aviation Group
Martin Drew, Senior Vice President – Global Sales & Cargo, Etihad Aviation Group says: “Having achieved record revenue results in the first half of 2022, the focus for Etihad Cargo was building on this momentum to ensure the carrier continued to meet customers’ capacity demands with agility. Exceeding OTP and DAP targets, which measure the carrier’s ability to deliver cargo at the agreed time and the punctuality of its freighter fleet against schedule, demonstrates Etihad Cargo’s strong commitment to reliability, building trust and being the air cargo partner of choice.”
While a surge in passenger demand impacted capacity, Etihad Cargo maintained a strong belly-to-freighter load factor, recording a 58 percent belly and 42 percent freighter load mix at the end of 2022, the release added. The carrier also achieved a load factor of 91 percent and a freighter utilisation rate of 14.3 hours.
“Etihad Cargo’s customers have benefited from increased belly capacity on widebody passenger flights to key destinations including Bangkok, Brussels, Dublin, Guangzhou, Johannesburg, Kuala Lumpur, London, Madrid, New York, Singapore and Vienna,” says Drew. “The carrier also introduced additional freighter capacity, launching new services from Chennai and Shanghai. Through continuous review of its network, Etihad Cargo has responded to increased capacity demand with agility. The carrier will continue to work closely with its partners and customers so it can add capacity to meet evolving customer requirements and market conditions.”
Etihad Cargo has also achieved growth across a number of its eight premium products. "The carrier’s award-winning PharmaLife product, which is dedicated to the safe and reliable transportation of pharmaceuticals and life science products, has achieved continuous growth despite a decrease in the movement of Covid-19 vaccines. Etihad Cargo achieved IATA CEIV Pharma recertification in 2022, demonstrating the carrier’s full compliance with specific pharmaceutical regulations in terms of Good Distribution Practices (GDP), a quality system for warehouses and distribution centres dedicated to medicines. To further strengthen connections between Abu Dhabi and the rest of the world, Etihad Cargo has developed over 1,330 IATA CEIV Pharma and GDP-certified trade lanes, which ensure the integrity of products during transportation. The carrier’s global MOU linking Abu Dhabi and Belgium’s pharma ecosystem, dedicated pharma sales team and the establishment of Pharma Corridor 2.0 also contributed to an overall increase in pharmaceutical volumes."
The carrier also moved 6 percent more horses via its SkyStables product in 2022 compared to the previous year, the release said.
Another core focus for Etihad Cargo during 2022 was sustainability, and the carrier launched several initiatives and programmes that will help customers meet sustainability targets and benefit the wider air cargo industry. "For example, Etihad Cargo partnered with IATA to co-develop and trial a cargo-specific CO2 emission calculation tool, which will provide a valuable proof of concept for the cargo component of the IATA CO2 Connect carbon calculator. Etihad Cargo was also the first middle eastern carrier to join TIACA’s BlueSky sustainability verification programme. To make the transportation of pharmaceuticals more sustainable, the carrier entered into an MOU with B Medical Systems to develop and launch the world’s first airline-specific passive temperature-controlled container, which will significantly reduce carbon emissions through an innovative design in terms of packaging type and size while still mitigating the main risks of potential breaks in the airline pharma supply chain."
