Etihad and Air Seychelles name new GSA

Etihad Cargo and Air Seychelles have named Network Airline Services (NAS) South Africa as their general sales agent (GSA). “With this appointment we have firmly cemented our footprint throughout the South African market, now offering over 400 destinations through all our airline partners,” said NAS general manager Arnold Vosloo. Etihad Cargo offers daily f lights from Johannesburg to Abu Dhabi with a total cargo capacity of 16 tonnes per fight. Air Seychelles offers three weekly frequencies from Johannesburg with connections from Seychelles to Praslin, Mauritius, Hong Kong and Abu Dhabi. It also offers a cargo capacity of 16 tonnes per f light. Magdy El Ghandour, regional cargo sales manager for Etihad Cargo, told FTW that this new partnership was part of Etihad Cargo’s aim to become the world’s biggest airline. “We are already the fastest-growing in the world, starting in 2006 with an operating budget of US$165 million. This year, our budget is over US$1 billion,” he said, adding that the appointment of Walter Jones as cargo manager for sales in South Africa on May 1 was expected to boost cargo volumes out of Johannesburg. Sam Okpro, head of cargo commercial for Air Seychelles, said that the island nation was “very dependent” on imports. “We source most of our imports from Dubai, Sri Lanka, Cairo and South Africa,” he said. CAPTION Cementing partnerships … from the left: Albert Soliman (Etihad Cargo); Arnold Vosloo (NAS), Nadine Louys (Air Seychelles), Sam Okpro (Air Seychelles) and Magdy El Ghandour (Etihad Cargo).