... and
excellent
yields too
VIRGIN ATLANTIC Cargo's South African operation has ended its financial year on an all time high.
In February the airline's Johannesburg - London route achieved the highest payload factor per flight of all the routes served by Virgin, while March produced the highest figures ever for the two and a half year old local operation.
Some 75% of the volume carried by Virgin is general cargo, with perishables making up the remaining 25%.
Our policy is to support general cargo agents 12 months of the year, says g.m. cargo Chris Ingall, who is also delighted with the yield achieved.
Normally January and February are slow months, but we just carried on building right up till our best ever results in March.
Despite the growing volumes, the airline still has capacity to sell.
Our Airbus has performed way beyond our expectations, even with very high passenger loads and a heatwave in February. In terms of cargo capacity its been excellent, says Ingall.
Having said that, he is still hopeful that the more cargo-friendly 747 could enter service on the Johannesburg route before the end of the year.
While the 747-400 would be right for the route, it would be a lot more expensive to run than the Airbus.
What might make sense is one of the 747-200 long-range aircraft which Virgin recently bought second-hand from Cathay Pacific and Air New Zealand. The Air New Zealand aircraft are powered by Rolls Royce engines which could give them the range for the SA route.
The new aircraft could enter service in October/November this year, but there's been no confirmation of dates as yet.
We're also reapplying for the direct Cape Town route, but at the moment there are no slots available southbound, Ingall told FTW
