Etihad extends wet lease contracts with Maximus Air Cargo

UAE FLAG carrier Etihad Airways has extended its wet lease contracts for two A300-600RF aircraft begun June 2009 with Maximus Air Cargo to run to August 2012.

Abu Dhabi's Maximus Air Cargo started operating seven cargo flights a week of both scheduled and chartered services between the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, East Africa, and China on behalf of Etihad since June 2009.

Maximus is the largest freighter-only air operator in the Middle East and currently has a staff of more than 140, operating a fleet of all-cargo Antonov An-124-100, Airbus A300-600RF, Ilyushin IL-76TD, and Lockheed Hercules L382G aircraft operating across the Middle East, Europe, Africa and Asia.

"Etihad's cargo operation is an increasingly important segment of the airline's business. Our growing passenger fleet offers enormous potential to carry increasing quantities of cargo between Abu Dhabi and the rest of the world," said Etihad vice president Roy Kinnear in a company statement.

Its arrangement with Maximus supplements the capacity available in the bellyholds space of its fleet and through dedicated freighters, he added.

Etihad's cargo division operates a fleet of six dedicated cargo planes consisting of two Airbus A300-600F, two Airbus A330-200F and two MD-11F aircraft that fly on scheduled services to Europe, Asia and Africa. In addition, Etihad carries cargo on its passenger flights to over 66 destinations worldwide.
(Source:www.schednet.com)