Etihad Crystal Cargo, the cargo division of Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, will start all-cargo-services to New Delhi on Wednesday, July, 20th. The new freighter service offers additional cargo capacity to the capital of India.
So far, Etihad Airways has operated three weekly flights to New Delhi on an Airbus A330-200, with a payload capacity of approximately 15 tons on each flight. With this new regional freighter Etihad Crystal Cargo adds an additional payload of 39 tons. The freighter flight will operate once a week (Wednesday) between Abu Dhabi and New Delhi.
Commenting on the news, the acting Head of Cargo & Mail, Ingo Roessler said “The all-cargo-services of Etihad Crystal Cargo to the Indian capital complement the existing cargo services on Etihad Airways’ network. The Airbus A310-300F allows us to accept main deck cargo and greater volumes for Indian shipping customers.”
The majority of cargo uplifted from New Delhi will consist of garments for the markets in the Middle East, Europe, and North America.
New Delhi is the third destination on the Indian subcontinent Etihad Crystal Cargo is adding to its fast growing freighter destinations network. In February 2005, Etihad Crystal Cargo launched weekly all-cargo-services to Mumbai. At the beginning of June Etihad Airways’ cargo fleet has started flying twice weekly to Chennai.
In addition to the Indian destinations, Etihad Crystal Cargo’s regional freighter fleet currently serves Frankfurt thrice a week and Amman, Milan, and Khartoum twice a week. Etihad Crystal Cargo also offers world-wide charter services.
Several other all-cargo-destinations in Africa, the CIS countries, Europe and Asia are currently under study.
In 2004, the first full year of operation, Etihad Crystal Cargo moved 20.000 tons of cargo. The cargo production target for 2005 is in excess of 100.000 tons.
From the beginning of 2005 the cargo services have been dramatically upgraded by the introduction of the first of a fleet of regional freighter aircraft: the A300-600F with a payload of up to 44.000 KGS and the A310-300F with a payload of up to 39.000 KGS. Another Airbus A300-600F will join Etihad Crystal Cargo’s fleet in August.
By the end of 2006, the airline expects to add an additional four regional freighter aircraft, bringing the total fleet to six freighters.
Etihad Airways, the national Airline of the United Arab Emirates, now flies to 17 destinations in the Middle East, Europe and Asia. The growing network now serves Amman, Bahrain, Bangkok, Beirut, Cairo, Colombo, Damascus, Dammam, Frankfurt, Geneva, Karachi, London (Heathrow), London (Gatwick), Mumbai, Munich, New Delhi and Riyadh.
The cargo division of Etihad Airways, Etihad Crystal Cargo, offers a comprehensive range of cargo services on all flights of the airline's rapidly expanding network. A growing fleet of regional freighter aircraft operates additional cargo destinations - currently Frankfurt, Amman, Mumbai, Milan, Chennai, Khartoum and New Delhi - and world-wide charter flights. Etihad Crystal Cargo's services are based on three fundamental promises - Ultimate Information Transparency, 21st Century Technology and Total Customer Focus.
