US market set to receive a major capacity boost from today as US air passenger services reopen to a large number of major markets.
The transatlantic air cargo market is set to receive a major capacity boost from today as US air passenger services reopen to a large number of major markets.
IAG Cargo announced an increased schedule into the United States from today, as the country reopens to fully vaccinated passengers from destinations across the world. The new schedule will service 21 destinations across the country including additional capacity into key routes and the restart of the service into Newark.
“From 8 November, IAG Cargo customers will be able to access additional capacity on many destinations across the USA with the volumes of flights into New York, Austin, Miami, Philadelphia and Los Angeles, to name a few, increasing. As well as restarting its direct service into Newark, IAG Cargo also plans to restart services to Baltimore, Orlando, Tampa and Las Vegas from 15November 2021,” the European airline group said.
The increased capacity and planned re-starts coincide with peak season for air cargo – as Black Friday, Thanksgiving and Christmas ecommerce shipments in particular take hold, IAG Cargo highlighted. “The business is also focused on providing additional capacity on priority routes – adding wide-body aircraft to short-haul European routes that feed into its main hubs; London-Heathrow, Madrid-Barajas and Dublin Airport, offering faster delivery for customers receiving freight on both sides of the Atlantic.”
John Cheetham, Chief Commercial Officer at IAG Cargo said: “We are delighted to see the United States open up once again to passengers, and the impact this will have on cargo capacity; the full reopening of the transatlantic travel corridor is a pivotal moment. With peak season in full swing, one of our busiest trading lanes is linking USA, Europe and UK – this additional capacity will be of great benefit to so many of our customers.
“IAG Cargo is now serving 21 US destinations and additionally, we’ve added wide-body aircraft within Europe that feeds into our main hubs and onwards to the USA. For example, we’ve added the A380 for peak season to service London and Frankfurt – an important hub for the automotive industry.”
IAG Cargo stressed that it had continued to facilitate regular shipments between Europe and the UK and the United States throughout the pandemic, including via multiple flights of passenger aircraft operating in cargo-only mode. “Popular items shipped have included high volumes of automotive parts from Southeast Asia, transferred via Europe, into the United States, as well as sporting equipment, food and drink and ecommerce items like home office equipment as well as pharmaceuticals such as COVID-19 vaccines,” it said.
IAG Cargo is the single business created following the merger of British Airways World Cargo and Iberia Cargo in April 2011. Following the integration of additional airlines into the business, including Aer Lingus, Vueling and Level, IAG Cargo now has a combined workforce of more than 2,250 people and its parent company, International Airlines Group, is one of the world’s largest airline groups with more than 500 aircraft.
Source: Lloyd’s
