As airfreight volumes between Saudi Arabia, Asia and other parts of the world remain in positive mode, Saudi Airlines Cargo Company (SACC) is expanding the size of its fleet and increasing the frequency of its services to meet client demand.
Adding to the growth, SACC announced in June the opening of its new Far East regional office in Hong Kong. The newly established regional office manages the business of eight online Far East stations, including Hong Kong, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Bangkok. The Shanghai and Guangzhou freighter services stop in Bangkok to pick up cargo before heading to Europe through Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) hubs.
SACC has grown its freighter fleet by adding three additional B747s to increase the frequency on scheduled services and create more capacity for the charter market. The carrier has increased weekly freighter flights to 14 to Brussels, five to Amsterdam, six to Hong Kong, five to Johannesburg, three to Sharjah, four to Khartoum and four to Addis Ababa.
The airline operates 28 passenger and freighter flights, with a weekly capacity of 1,340 tonnes to main hubs in the kingdom from where flights connect to a global network covering 225 destinations in Africa, the Middle East, the subcontinent, Europe and the United States. SACC says state-of-the-art facilities located in Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam and Brussels, utilising the latest operational systems, and equipment enable the airline to handle and store cargo in accordance with the highest international standards.
'The increase in the number of flights to Asia, Africa and Europe will strengthen SACC's position in the air cargo market,' says Shihab Al Amoudi, head of global communications and advertising, and media spokesman at SACC.
Vikram Vohra, SACC Far East regional director, says the new Hong Kong office provides sales, customer service and operational support to the Hong Kong market where the carrier operates six weekly B747 freighter flights. 'Our fleet can accommodate all types and sizes of cargo,' says Vohra, who has worked in the airfreight industry for more than 25 years. Offline stations in Seoul, Osaka, Hanoi, Saigon and Taipei are also supported and managed from Hong Kong.
'South China [Guangzhou and Hong Kong], in particular, has large demand for airfreight to the KSA and Africa and we are a carrier of choice in this market,' Vohra says.
