Qatar Airways Cargo posts 37.5% tonnage growth in 2015

Meanwhile, the airline began offering belly-hold capacity between Doha and Sydney this week.    Qatar Airways Cargo’s airfreight tonnage surged 37.5 percent year-over-year in 2015 to 1.5 million metric tons, the cargo airline said.
   In Doha, where the airline is based out of, volumes of import cargo and export cargo for 2015 rose 29 percent and 10 percent year-over-year, respectively. Transport cargo volumes in Doha jumped 39 percent compared to 2014.
   Just this week, Qatar Airways launched a new, daily service between Sydney and Doha, which provides 84 metric tons of belly-hold cargo capacity per week into and out of Sydney, using a Boeing 777-300 passenger aircraft, Qatar Airways said.
   Qatar Airways Cargo already carries 301 metric tons of freight per week in the belly-hold of its Boeing 777 passenger aircraft into and out of Perth and Melbourne.
   “Australian exports to Doha grew by 23 percent last year, and the State of Qatar’s high demand for livestock, cereal, meat, dairy products and crops provides a significant opportunity for Australian exporters,” Sydney Airport Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Kerrie Mather said.
   Looking ahead, Qatar Airways Cargo later this month will launch three new freight routes to Budapest, Prague and Ho Chi Minh. In the coming months, the airline will also provide belly-hold cargo capacity on the passenger flights that will launch to the new destinations of Boston, Birmingham, Adelaide and Atlanta.
   Qatar Airways cargo operates with a fleet of eight Airbus A330Fs, eight Boeing 777Fs and one Boeing 747F. In addition, three more Boeing 777Fs are scheduled to arrive by the end of 2016.
   Overall, Qatar Airways cargo splits its cargo capacity across its freighters and passenger aircraft, with 51 percent of shipments carried on freighters and 49 percent in the belly-hold of passenger aircraft.