Etihad Cargo, the cargo and logistics arm of Etihad Aviation Group, exceeded its operational performance targets in 2022. The carrier achieved 80.5 per cent on-time-performance (OTP) for freighter departures and 84.1 per cent OTP for freighter arrivals, ahead of its 80 per cent target.

The carrier has also maintained a delivered-as-promised (DAP) rate of 86.6 per cent, a 2.6 per cent improvement compared to the previous year and over its target of 85 per cent.

Martin Drew, Senior Vice President – Global Sales & Cargo at Etihad Aviation Group, said, “Having achieved record revenue results in the first half of 2022, the focus for Etihad Cargo was building on this momentum to ensure the carrier continued to meet customers’ capacity demands with agility. Exceeding OTP and DAP targets, which measure the carrier’s ability to deliver cargo at the agreed time and the punctuality of its freighter fleet against schedule, demonstrates Etihad Cargo’s strong commitment to reliability, building trust and being the air cargo partner of choice.”

2022 saw Etihad Cargo retire the last of its aircraft reconfigured to carry cargo-in-cabin. While a surge in passenger demand impacted capacity, Etihad Cargo maintained a strong belly-to-freighter load factor, recording a 58 per cent belly and 42 per cent freighter load mix at the end of 2022. The carrier has also achieved a load factor of 91 per cent and a freighter utilisation rate of 14.3 hours.

Etihad Cargo has also achieved growth across a number of its eight-strong premium products. The carrier’s award-winning PharmaLife product, which is dedicated to the safe and reliable transportation of pharmaceuticals and life science products, has achieved continuous growth despite a decrease in the movement of COVID-19 vaccines. Etihad Cargo achieved IATA CEIV Pharma recertification in 2022, demonstrating the carrier’s full compliance with specific pharmaceutical regulations in terms of Good Distribution Practices (GDP), a quality system for warehouses and distribution centres dedicated to medicines. To further strengthen connections between Abu Dhabi and the rest of the world, Etihad Cargo has developed over 1,330 IATA CEIV Pharma and GDP-certified trade lanes, which ensure the integrity of products during transportation. The carrier’s global MOU linking Abu Dhabi and Belgium’s pharma ecosystem, dedicated pharma sales team and the establishment of Pharma Corridor 2.0 also contributed to an overall increase in pharmaceutical volumes.

The carrier also moved 6 per cent more horses via its SkyStables product in 2022 compared to the previous year. Contributing to this increase was a six-month peak season for east-to-west and then west-to-east travel to coincide with major equine events and the horse-racing season. In 2022, Etihad Cargo achieved IATA CEIV Live Animals certification, becoming the first airline in the Middle East and only the third globally to hold the trilogy of IATA’s CEIV Live Animals, CEIV Fresh and CEIV Pharma certifications.