Catering to the unusual
Last year, Moscow-based AirBridgeCargo Airlines transported 2% more goods than in 2017. It is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, in which it will push ahead with diversification and add lucrative segments to its already broad range of services.
AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC), which is an element of the Volga-Dnepr Group, may be celebrating ‘only’ its 15th anniversary in 2019 – but with 700,000 t of airfreight carried in its holds in 2018 (+2% vis-à-vis 2017), the No. 1 Russian full-freighter operator has quite a strong presence – both internationally as well as domestically – and would appear to be well-positioned to further serve its many clients.
Last year it added Budapest, Columbus, Ho Chi Minh City and Shenzhen to its route network. Several of its special solutions grew by above-average rates in the twelve months under review – ‘ABC pharma’ by no less than 60%, ‘ABC dg’ (dangerous goods) by 40%, ‘ABC xl’ by 20% and its ‘e-com’ offering by 6%.
This last segment may seem a little modest in the face of what Amazon and co. manage – but ABC and Volga-Dnepr are banking strongly on the digital future. Just before Christmas Volga-Dnepr signed a memorandum of understanding with Cainiao, Alibaba’s logistics solutions provider, which envisages the partners establishing a network of liner services covering Asia, Russia and the rest of Europe. “The move makes perfect sense, as airfreight’s future is closely linked to e-commerce,” according to Tatyana Arslanova, the group’s strategic management vice-president.
The future is now
The future has obviously already begun, looking at various new IoT measures. Ever more collaboration arrangements with digital partners, such as ULD service provider Unilode and communications specialist Sitaonair, enable ABC Airlines to offer digital solutions to improve customers’ benefits. ABC director general Sergey Lazarev is looking forward to “an extraordinary – as well as challenging – 15th anniversary year. That’s what makes the airfreight segment so interesting, all told, doesn’t it.”
