Once desperate Icelandair sees profit after volcanic year

FEW are more amazed at Icelandair Cargo's comeback than its managing director Gunnar Sigurfinnson after experiencing a horrible year of the volcano coupled with the worse national economic downturn in the western world.

But today Mr Sigurfinnson says Icelandair Cargo is in the best shape it's been in for some time, and will likely turn a profit - its first in four years, according to an interview in Supply Chain Digital

About 35 per cent of the carrier's revenue comes from leasing unused aircraft. But given the resurgence of growth in the market, Mr Sigurfinnson hopes to re-ignite long-deferred expansion plans.

Just before the 2008 recession, the company had laid out plans to expand operations with the purchase of several Airbus 330s for US-Iceland-Europe-Asia services.

But such plans were laid low by the global downturn, which hit Iceland far harder than any western country. Aircraft orders were cancelled and the company cut capacity to meet the 60 per cent fall in imports to his beleaguered nation.

Then came the eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano earlier this year just 80 kilometres from his airport base, which made a horrible situation worse, he said.

But because the dense volcanic ash clouding the airways drifted along the southern coast, Mr Sigurfinnson said they were able to move the hub upwind of the volcano on the northern part of island and managed to fly what little available cargo there was.
(Source:www.schednet.com)