Burgeoning volumes fill BA cargo holds

THE DECISION by British Airways World Cargo to introduce a twice-a-week freighter service into Johannesburg, at the expense of some of its Far East routes, has proved to be a wise move. "Volumes are excellent," says Derek Hughes, Johannesburg International Airport station manager for Cargo Service Center (CSC), ground handlers for the airline. "Cargo volumes are up by between 35 and 40% over last yearÕs figures. We are able to send off an average of 70 tons every Tuesday and Friday, allowing for the fact that space has to be allotted to Nairobi on the northbound flight as well. Southbound loads have been equally good with between 60 and 70 tons each flight. "This is during what we normally term the lull period. With November and December around the corner and the heavy demand which accompanies those months, we are going to find space at a premium." BAWC managing director Gareth Kirkwood made reference to the value of the Johannesburg service when he announced the airlineÕs financial results recently. He said that a review of the freighter schedule saw the cancellation of the Singapore block space freighter service and the reallocation of some of the Hong Kong and Kansai capacity to Johannesburg, Atlanta and Vitoria (Spain). This, he said, had contributed to a strong freighter performance at the end of the financial year. The airlineÕs recent commitment to taking on more loose freight, an area which it had ignored in previous years, has also added substantially to loads on the London-Johannesburg service, both in the freighter operation and in belly-load capacity on daily flights. "We have made a change in the quality of our loose freight handling and now offer world-class service on intact, loose, express and courier freight handling as well as our niche products such as valuables and perishables," said Kirkwood. "Moving forward, we are predicting an overall modest rise in traffic levels, something like 1.4% in the current financial year. This largely represents a bounce back to levels seen before September 2001."