Virgin Atlantic Cargo to build on South African seasonal growth

VIRGIN Atlantic Cargo has restarted its daily seasonal freight flights from Cape Town, South Africa from London Heathrow to support demand and further benefit from revenue gains of double digits made during fiscal 2011-2012.

The flights will deploy Airbus A340-300 to New York, Chicago and Miami with a cargo capacity of 17 tonnes for Cape Town's key exports of general cargo, fish and fresh fruits, such as berries, grapes and stone fruit.

In the face of traffic slowdown on the Asia Pacific, the UK-based carrier was able to claw back revenues by seven per cent during the last fiscal to GBP239.6 million (US$381.8 million) supported by strong seasonal cargo from Cape Town.

Virgin Atlantic Cargo's Nick Jones said Cape Town during peak winter season is a very strong route and is a good business decision during times of lowered performance elsewhere.

"We are a well-established winter season carrier from Cape Town and the service levels we offer mean we are successful in retaining our customers' loyalty on a year-round basis," he added.

It hopes to gain further market share by resuming a daily passenger and cargo service at Mumbai's Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport after a three year break.