Emirates Airline today unveiled plans to grow the number of flights across its network by 14% in 2009, increasing cargo capacity by 17%.
In the next 12 months, Emirates SkyCargo will take delivery of two new, state-of-the-art Boeing 777 freighters, the largest twin-engine aircraft in the world. They will have a maximum payload of 103 tons. In addition, 18 new wide-bodied passenger aircraft will be added to the Emirates fleet, enabling Emirates SkyCargo to increase frequencies and capacity on many existing routes.
Emirates currently has a fleet of 129 wide-bodied aircraft, including eight freighters. By the end of the 2008-09 financial year (ending March 31, 2009), that figure will stand at 132, including one Boeing 777 freighter. The carrier will welcome another Boeing 777 freighter in the 2009-10 fiscal year.
Ram Menen, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President Cargo, said: 'The last two years have not been easy for the air cargo industry, but we hope to see some stability return in the coming months. For Emirates SkyCargo, 2009 will be a year of consolidation.
'We will bolster our presence in markets where we have a greater demand from our customers, such as China and Africa.'
Emirates SkyCargo recently commenced a weekly Boeing 747-400 freighter flight to Lagos. A second daily passenger service to the Nigerian capital, with 18 tons of bellyhold cargo capacity, began in February.
It will also introduce services from Dubai to Durban, South Africa on October 1, 2009. The route will be served by an Airbus A330-200 that can carry up to 14 tons of cargo into the port city.
In recent months, Emirates SkyCargo has increased capacity from its Dubai hub to India to more than 2,500 tons a week. As new aircraft come online, the weekly cargo capacity will increase to the tune of approximately 10% to Europe; four% to Australia; 17% to the Middle East, 15 percent to Africa; while capacity into the US will grow eight% when the thrice weekly services to Los Angeles and San Francisco go daily from May.
In total, the additional capacity will see more than 700 tons of cargo capacity added to the Emirates fleet.
Emirates SkyCargo directly serves 101 cities in 61 countries on six continents. In February 2008 cargo operations were moved to the custom designed Cargo Mega Terminal, a fully automated facility that boasts a 43,000 sq meter processing area (including 6,000 sq meters for temperature-sensitive cargo), 10,000 warehouse pallet positions, 2,400 ULD storage locations and modern handling equipment and systems. The facility has an annual throughput capacity of 1.2 million tons.
