IAG Cargo to launch new London-U.S. routes

The all-cargo airline will commence a four-times-weekly service between London Gatwick Airport and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., as well as a three-times-weekly route from Gatwick to Oakland, Calif., starting in March 2017, the company said in a statement.    IAG Cargo will launch two new routes between London Gatwick Airport in the United Kingdom to the United States in early 2017, the company said in a statement.
   The all-cargo airline will commence a four-times-weekly service between London Gatwick and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., as well as a three-times-weekly route from Gatwick to Oakland, Calif., starting in March.
   Both routes will be served by wide-bodied British Airways B777-200 aircraft.
   IAG said it expects major commodities shipped from Oakland to include aircraft engines, electronics and fresh produce such as nuts and almonds, while key shipments from Fort Lauderdale will include aircraft parts, technology products and jewelry.
   The news comes just a few weeks after the UK approved a 16 billion British pound (U.S. $20 billion) expansion at London Heathrow Airport, the largest airport in the country and Gatwick’s primary competitor.
   The expansion will include a new runway to ease capacity restraints at the busy airport and could benefit the UK economy by as much as 61 billion British pounds and create as many as 77,000 jobs over the next 14 years, but came at the expense of a similar proposal to expand facilities at Gatwick.
   “For many years, we have offered our customers extensive access across North America,” David Shepherd, commercial director at IAG Cargo, said of the new routes. “The addition of Fort Lauderdale and Oakland to our network cements this position, offering access to places that we know are important to our customers and enabling them to do business more effectively across the globe.”
   Formed following the 2011 merger of British Airways World Cargo and Iberia Cargo, IAG Cargo now serves 22 gateways on over 800 flights per week to North America.