Etihad Cargo reported a surge in online bookings saying that almost half of its bookings are now made online.

The cargo and logistics arm of Etihad Aviation Group has launched its revamped online booking portal in October 2021 as part of the carrier's ongoing digitalisation strategy.

"In the six months since its launch, the booking portal has attracted a surge in new users and bookings, with 45% of all bookings being made via the portal in April 2022," Etihad said.

"Etihad Cargo is confident portal bookings will reach 50% of all the carrier's bookings in the coming months," it added.

The cargo carrier said India ranks first with 95.8% adoption, with Hong Kong and China recording 95.4% and 89.6% respectively.

There has also been an increase in new countries, including Vietnam, using the booking portal, demonstrating the portal's popularity across geographies.

Etihad noted that the online booking portal offers Etihad Cargo's customers a more streamlined booking process that requires minimal data entry which has enabled users to create and confirm bookings within 45 seconds.

"Since the launch of the new online booking portal, Etihad Cargo has added several new features that have made creating and confirming bookings easier and faster than ever before. The enhanced look-to-book feature and the addition of a dynamic newsfeed and personalised dashboards have created a more intuitive process, which has resulted in higher quality booking data and a reduced need for booking modifications," said Martin Drew, senior vice president – Global Sales & Cargo.

Drew noted that the digitalisation journey has "not stopped there."

"Etihad Cargo has also launched a Mandarin version of its website and, more recently, a Mandarin version of the new online booking portal, effectively removing the language barrier for Etihad Cargo's customers in China – a key market for the carrier," the Etihad executive said.

Etihad Cargo said it is also developing new customer-focused features in line with a wider digitalisation strategy.

In Q2, Etihad Cargo's customers will be able to create permanent bookings, enabling them to complete seasonal and bulk bookings with just a few clicks.

Later in the year, the carrier will add online booking capabilities for more products and commodities while enhancing its analytics capabilities.