The Russian consumer market for flowers is one of, if not the, largest in Europe. Around 60-80% of flowers imported into Russia are from the Netherlands.
ABC's new services from Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport operate directly to Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport (SVO) and will offer a distribution channel for Dutch flower exporters throughout Russia. Sheremetyevo is one of the two hubs AirBridge have established in Russia, the other being in Siberia in Krasnoyarsk (KJA).
Stan Wraight, Vice President of Volga-Dnepr Group, said, "Amsterdam is very important for us. We are building up our hubs in Europe and expanding our flight network to meet the demands of Russia's growing economy. We want to build AirBridge Cargo as an airline that can stand on its own against any competition and continue to be the largest scheduled air carrier in Russia.
"This move opens up new opportunities for exporters in the Benelux to Russia and will also enable ABC to provide Dutch and other European exporters with a fast and effective route via its hubs to Shanghai and Beijing in China plus Nagoya in Japan, starting in October." This is of particular importance to the many industries involved in the development of the rich oil, gas and mining industries in Eastern Russia", he added.
AirBridge Cargo also operates five B747F flights a week from Frankfurt to Shanghai and Beijing via Moscow and Krasnoyarsk.
Sander van Woesik, European Sales and Marketing director of AirBridge Cargo, said, "With our direct B747F service from Amsterdam, ABC will strengthen the economical value and commercial opportunity of Schiphol (SPL) as the main port for Dutch flower and vegetable exporters as well as for temperature controlled products like pharmaceuticals and short life cycle products for the high-tech industries. With its strong transit position, Schiphol is also enabling AirBridge Cargo to cover surrounding countries including Scandinavia, the UK & Ireland and Belgium with a well defined trucking network. With our direct services to and form Schiphol and Frankfurt, AirBridge Cargo is covering the main European gateways."
AirBridge Cargo has plans to increase services from Amsterdam when a third Boeing 747 aircraft is added to the company's fleet in September 2005.
