BA adds seasonal capacity on CT route

ALAN PEAT THE STRENGTH of the rand has been a worry for many South African exporters, but airfreight appears to be weathering the storm, according to Bert Ruizendaal, British Airways World Cargo (BAWC) area manager Southern Africa. “Certainly that has been our experience,” he told FTW. In addition to 548-tons a week from Johannesburg and 154-t from Cape Town, the airline also operates a dedicated Boeing 747 freighter twice a week. And, he added, additional Cape Town flights over the SA summer will boost cargo capacity on this route by 110-t from October. “It’s certainly capacity that we can use, given the increased demand, particularly for perishables and fish, over the Cape summer season,” said Ruizendaal, although he was quick to point out that BAWC wasn’t experiencing nearly as much seasonality as it used to. To some extent this is because the airline has actively sought to grow the proportion of general cargo it carries. This includes catalytic converters and other motor parts which are not subject to seasonal fluctuations and are relatively easy to store and transport. But seasonality and rand strength aside, Ruizendaal said that cargo clients want “network, convenience and consistency”. “There’ll always be some things we can’t control,” he added, “but, as long as we keep delivering on these basics, we’ll keep attracting customers.”