AirBridgeCargo tonnage soars 17% in Q1

The all-cargo airline handled 158,000 metric tons of cargo during the first quarter of 2017, an increase of 17 percent compared with the same 2016 period.    AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC), the scheduled freight airline of Moscow-based Volga Dnepr Group, handled 158,000 metric tons of cargo during the first quarter of 2017, an increase of 17 percent from the first quarter of 2016, the airline said.
   The airline’s load factor rose 70 percent from the first quarter of 2016.
   Products requiring special handling procedures were among those with the highest growth for ABC during the first quarter of 2017, with pharmaceutical shipments increasing 70 percent year-over-year.
   In March, ABC took delivery of its 10th new Boeing 747-8 freighter, increasing its total 747 fleet to 17 aircraft.