Etihad Crystal Cargo enhances trucking services

The roller-bed trucks, provided and operated by MICCO Logistics on scheduled services linking Abu Dhabi to Sharjah, Dubai and Jebel Ali, will provide an improved trucking infrastructure to and from Abu Dhabi International Airport.

Commenting on Etihad Crystal Cargo's new road services, Mr. Robert W. Strodel, Head of Cargo & Mail said, "Quality upgrading and capacity building is a continuous process. We have just introduced our fifth all-cargo destination and are continually enhancing services with the launch of new routes and aircraft. With MICCO Logistics we have found the ideal partner to introduce a new level of quality and service in air-cargo-trucking for the Middle East."

Manufactured in Germany and branded with Etihad Crystal Cargo colors, the trucks are equipped according to Crystal Cargo's standards, which includes Global Positioning System to make cargo tracking easier and more efficient and cooling systems.

The trucks will operate several times a day between Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah and six days a week between Abu Dhabi and Jebel Ali Free Zone.

"Etihad Crystal Cargo shows a strong growth in cargo uplift and our aim is to fully respond to the growing demand for feeding services required by its customers," adds A. M. Simreen, Managing Director of MICCO Logistics. "We see this agreement as the building block for a long-term strategic partnership with Etihad Crystal Cargo."

In 2004, the first full year of operation, Etihad Crystal Cargo moved almost 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.

In Europe, the first Etihad Crystal Cargo branded truck was presented at the Air Cargo Europe in Munich at the beginning of June. Operated by Crystal Cargo's European trucking partner NLS Euro, road feeder services are provided throughout Europe feeding into Etihad Airways' growing network in Europe.