Etihad Cargo expands with Boeing 777

Etihad Cargo has taken delivery of a new Boeing 777 freighter which will enable the freight arm of Etihad Airways to continue its expansion plans into 2016. The aircraft becomes the 11th freighter in the fleet and has entered into commercial service since 1st March 2016.
Kevin Knight, Chief Strategy and Planning Officer for Etihad Airways, said, “The additional freighter gives us the opportunity to expand our specialist cargo services and grow our market share. Over the last year, we have been expanding into South America, Africa and Asia and the new aircraft will enhance capacity and enable us to increase frequency across our scheduled network, but importantly also increase our charter opportunities to growth areas of the world.”
In its existing fleet, Etihad Cargo currently operates three Boeing 777Fs, three Boeing 747s and four Airbus A330s. The Cargo division of the national airline carrier of the UAE currently serves 14 freighter-only destinations worldwide from its Abu Dhabi hub and has freighter capacity on Etihad Airways’ fleet of over 100 passenger aircraft.
The Etihad Cargo division generates over US$1 billion in revenue annually and reported strong cargo volumes for 2015, with 592,090 tonnes of freight and mail flown in total, a four per cent increase over 2014’s figures. The cargo division also accounted for 88 per cent of cargo imports, exports and transfers at Abu Dhabi International Airport.