News / Etihad Cargo eyes more parcel traffic as it strengthens ties with China

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Etihad Cargo is betting on parcel traffic with an expansion of its agreement with SF Airlines, the carrier arm of China’s second-largest courier, SF Express.

The two companies are reviewing April’s block space agreement in a bid to strengthen capacity between China and the rest of the world via Abu Dhabi. The deal saw the launch of two-weekly freighter services between Abu Dhabi and Wuhan Tianhe, in Hubei.

The pair last week signed an MoU to explore more opportunities, such as flights to cargo-focused Ezhou Huahu Airport, which currently only serves Chinese domestic operators, and increased frequencies to Wuhan.

Antonoaldo Neves, CEO at Etihad, said: “As the national carrier of the UAE, Etihad Airways is committed to supporting Abu Dhabi’s vision of becoming a global logistics and express hub. The agreement between Etihad Airways and SF Airlines will contribute to achieving the emirate’s ambitious strategic plans.

“Etihad Cargo looks forward to expanding the agreement between the two airlines to not only benefit the partners and customers of both airlines but also broaden the strong ties between the UAE and China.”

The move could signal a strategic shift by Etihad, which was last year taken under the control of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, ADQ. CEO Tony Douglas left following the switch and now Martin Drew, SVP global sales & cargo, is also set to quit the carrier.

Despite being the ‘national carrier’ of the UAE, Etihad and Abu Dhabi often seem to be in the shadow of Dubai and Emirates, which is also expanding its e-commerce interests. In fact, Emirates is expanding in general – at the beginning of the month, it said it was looking to buy 100 to 150 more aircraft and already has 200 on order. And port operator DP World is also busy expanding, now including airfreight in its offering, and has been courting Indian volumes.

Etihad’s relationship with SF Airlines may stand it in good stead with China, said to be reviewing the number of flights by Middle Eastern carriers into the country. Flight numbers increased during the pandemic, but are now above pre-pandemic numbers, which, according to sources, has become a concern for Chinese carriers.