Highlights were North American imports (up 13.3% at 136,065 tonnes), exports to Central and South America (up 9.4% at 83.941 tonnes) and exports to theMiddle East(108,770 tonnes, up 15,2%). Figures for Europe were also positive, but were distorted by the re-categorisation ofAirBridgeas a European carrier mid-year.

However, in a trend that had been growing throughout 2011, it was theFar Eastwhich held back Schiphol’s otherwise strong results, with 286,769 tonnes of exports (-7,3%) and 322,843 tonnes of imports (-12,9%) making a total of 609,613 tonnes (-10,4%).

The daily Dubai-Dublin service is currently operated with a 237-seat Airbus A330-200, arranged in a three class configuration.

“Normally, this would provide enough capacity for the first 2-3 years of a new route operation, said Salem Obaidalla, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations, Europe & Russian Federation. “However,Dublinis exceeding our expectations much faster than was predicted and we need more seats to satisfy demand.”

From July onwards, the replacement Boeing 777-300ER provides a total of 360 seats, representing an increase in capacity of 52%. The Boeing offers 310 seats in Economy Class, 42 in Business Class and 8 First Class Private Suites.

“A bigger aircraft means more good news for the Irish economy. We can bring extra visitors to the country and carry additional cargo,” said Mr Obaidalla. “The A330-200 can carry up to 15 tonnes of cargo in the belly hold – this figure rises to 25 tonnes with the introduction of the 777.”

WhileDublinhas been Emirates’ first passenger service intoIreland, the airline has been serving the market through its air freight division for many years, transferring cargo throughUKgateways, such asManchester.

IAG Cargo now has three B747-8F’s, replacing its older B747-400F freighters. The third new aircraft was delivered to the airline atLondonStanstedAirporton 29 December 2011. IAG Cargo operates the B747-8F toHong Kong5 times per week. Hactl was appointed as IAG Cargo’s cargo ground handler providing physical cargo handling service for its freighters.

Lilian Chan, Executive Director of Hactl, said: “We are delighted to join our valued customer IAG Cargo in celebrating this new milestone, and we congratulate them on their decision to introduce these exciting new aircraft. The B747-8F’s much larger capacity is very obvious when we are building up each flight.

“IAG Cargo’s acquisition of these new aircraft echoes Hactl’s own continuing massive investment in its business. The B747-8F opens a new chapter in the story of this legendary aircraft type, and brings new efficiencies and environmental benefits that are vital to the future health and prosperity of our industry.”

“We are delighted to be introducing ‘BellyFlex’ to the market. By opening up the massive SV belly network for this new product we will be able to meet growing customer demand for cost-effective solutions for shipping non-urgent cargo,” said Peter Scholten, VP Commercial at Saudi Airlines Cargo.

BellyFlex will be available to the following major destinations:London,Paris,New York,WashingtonDC,Jakarta,Manila,Kuala Lumpur,Guangzhou, Mumbai,Delhi,Karachi,Islamabad,Cairo,Dubai,KhartoumandBeirut, as well as many more destinations on the SV network.

Additionally, the airline has been instrumental in carrying pharmaceuticals & vaccines, electronics & electrical, engineering spares, chemicals, jute, silk, various kinds of perishables, valuables such as jewellery – diamonds – currency and finished leather goods on a weekly basis from India to the world.

In all; Emirates SkyCargo carries over 3,000 tonnes of cargo per week per direction out of India. Emirates SkyCargo successfully carried 1.8 million tons of cargo in the financial year of 2010-11 and saw a steep increase in revenue up 27.6 percent to a record AED 8.8 billion (US$ 2.4 billion).

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Ram Menen, Divisional Senior Vice President Cargo, Emirates “The Stat Times International award for excellence in Air Cargo” is widely recognized amongst the freight forwarding and trade industry as the benchmark in cargo performance. We are proud to be honored with the title consecutively three times. Our persistent efforts and constant innovation by implementing the latest technology and systems across key areas of measurement has helped generate tremendous goodwill for the Emirates brand.

We are working on differing business models to provide customized and general air cargo solutions to businesses across the country. We plan to begin our operations with one aircraft and will gradually add aircrafts to the fleet to have a pan India network”. Farnair Switzerland AG, a European cargo airline, has bought a substantial stake in Quickjet Cargo Airlines Pvt. Ltd in which Tata Capital Ltd is one of the key investors. Quickjet Cargo is also backed by investors including Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd, Infrastructure Development Infrastructure Development Finance Co. Ltd and AFL Pvt. Ltd.

After a successful testing phase the new materials handling system in the import warehouse of FCS has been operating since December by now.
The number of rack systems has been increased and there is also a new separate area for large pallets, Europallets and extra large cargo units. The narrower aisles and higher shelves are now harmonized with the material flows and have increased storage capacity significantly. The new operating forklift trucks were specially designed for FCS and are all equipped with touch screens and scanners.

The computer system has been optimized for the revised material flows and is now more efficient than ever before as it ensures quicker removal of items through faster data transmission. In addition the integration of all interfaces ensures fast processing. The process enhancement leads besides capacity increase to shorter wait times for forwarders, faster delivery and thus improvement of productivity and customer service.

Winfried Hartmann, Managing Director FCS, is pleased: “Rising costs and worsening capacity bottlenecks require continuous optimization of logistical processes to stay competitive. A boost and strong fluctuation in demand cause soaring capacity shortage. The new import handling system results in an increase of more than 50% storage space, a larger handling area, higher productivity and faster delivery. We are pleased being able to provide our clients with an ultimate better service with this.”

Dennis Gliznoutsa, Vice President for Sales, Volga-Dnepr Airlines, said the increase in the IL-76TD-90VD fleet will allow Volga-Dnepr to respond to market demand more flexibly and expeditiously. “The aircraft performs to an extremely high standard for airfreight transportation and is in high demand by our customers. The entry of the fourth IL-76TD-90VD into service facilitates our plans to gain a larger share of the cargo market for shipments in the up to 50 tons category of the international market. The demand for modernised IL-76TD-90VD services is due to its ability to operate globally without restrictions and because older versions of the aircraft are gradually being taken off the market,” he added.

“Volga-Dnepr Group will continue to implement the programme to grow its new IL-76 fleet. We expect to take delivery of our fifth IL-76TD-90VD in May 2012. It is currently being built at the Tashkent Chkalov Aviation Factory,” says General Director of Volga-Dnepr-Leasing, Andrey Pakhomov.

Pharmaceuticals, which make up nearly a quarter of Ireland’s exports, are expected to be amongst the commodities carried direct from Dublin to Dubai and beyond, using Emirates’ extensive global network.Irelandalready manufactures and exports Botox toSouth Africa, the Far East andAustralia. Electronics – electronic components, computer parts and software – contribute significantly toIreland’s export market and are expected to be among the substantial tonnage of Irish cargo carried by the airline from January 9th. It is anticipated that many iconic Irish brands, such as Waterford Crystal and Bailey’s will also take up early capacity on the new Emirates service fromDublin.

Robert Siegel, Emirates’ Regional Manager Cargo Commercial said, “There has already been huge interest from the Irish export market in our new direct service and cargo space and capacity are being filled quickly, due to our network of 118 destinations that will be selling in and out of Ireland, by January 2012. We recently appointed a dedicated Emirates SkyCargo team inDublinwith Michael Meagher, a veteran air cargo professional, as Cargo Manager to ensure that all our corporate clients inIrelandreceive the same award-winning service as our commercial passengers.

This Boeing aircraft painted in British Airways World Cargo livery will operate in key cargo hubs across the network providing market-leading performance in terms of payload, fuel efficiency, low tonne-kilometre cost and environmental compliance.

Along with key government and Airport Authority officials, a few key customers joined the BA World Cargo team in welcoming this next generation aircraft at Mumbai. ‘It is a proud moment for the IAG Cargo team inIndiawho have worked closely with the airport authorities to meet operational standards for this aircraft which is 18 feet and 4 inches longer than 747-400. This also means that IAG Cargo will be able to provide more freighter capacity from Mumbai to the key global cargo hubs for our valuable Indian clientele. We are thankful to the Airport Authority of India, GVK, Air Traffic Control and DGCA authorities for working towards upgrading the efficiencies of Indian airports and embracing better technology aircraft  ‘ said Gurmeet Kalra, Area Commercial Manager inIndia.

As part of the lease agreement for three 747-8 Freighters with Global Supply Systems, IAG Cargo will utilise the airplanes on long-haul routes to cargo hubs of Asia, Africa, Middle East, India, UK, Europe and the United States.

The new 747-8 Freighter is 250 feet, 2 inches (76.3 m) long and offers 18 additional tonnes compared to the 747-400. This stretch provides customers with 16 percent more cargo volumes, which translates to four additional main-deck pallets and three additional lower-hold pallets. The 747-8 Freighters will be powered with GE’s GEnx-2B engines.