Emirates SkyCargo is looking ahead to 2024 with optimism after its air freight volumes showed marked growth and recovery in 2023 despite a weak overall market environment.

The carrier said it is wrapping up a year of major growth and investment, and it plans to pursue future investments in its fleet and services in the coming year in a show of confidence in global air cargo logistics.

Nabil Sultan, divisional senior vice president of Emirates SkyCargo, said 2023 was a "pivotal year" for Emirates SkyCargo.

"Despite ongoing fluctuations in air freight, long-term trends indicate that the industry is growing at a rate of 3 – 5% year-on-year," he said, noting that the carrier has bucked this slowdown as it reported growth last year.

"Emirates SkyCargo, however, continues to outperform the market growth, uplifting over 1,183,000 tonnes from January to mid-December-December, a solid 7% increase compared to last year," Nabil said.

Looking ahead, the Emirates SkyCargo executive said the carrier is "well-positioned" for further growth owing to its continued investments in its fleet and operations.

In Q1 of 2023, Emirates SkyCargo expanded its capacity with the lease of two Boeing 747-400Fs — which joined its fleet of 11 Boeing 777Fs and 251 passenger aircraft.

"Looking to the future, we are well-positioned to steadily scale up operations in 2024, continuing our strategic growth to ensure we lead the industry in solutions that are fast, reliable, flexible, and efficient," Nabil said.

Further expansion is also on the horizon, with four new 777-200Fs expected in 2024 and a fifth aircraft in 2025.

Emirates SkyCargo said this order is in addition to 310 wide-body passenger aircraft that Emirates has on the order book, which will see deliveries of new aircraft and new cargo capacity through to 2035.

Building on its competitive global connectivity, Emirates SkyCargo extended its reach in Canada and North America through strategic interline cooperation with Air Canada Cargo.

Emirates SkyCargo also pointed to its reinforced multi-vertical product portfolio with the launch of two new bespoke products under its Life Sciences and Healthcare vertical to address specific transportation challenges in healthcare.

It noted that its Emirates Vital is a specialist product designed to transport clinical trials, cell and gene therapies, and human samples, while Emirates Medical Devices enables the transport of everything from pacemakers to MRIs, following GDP specifications.

Since its launch, it noted that Emirates SkyCargo has uplifted almost 1,000 tonnes of highly sensitive cargo using these two products alone.

Emirates Delivers also expanded operations to Kuwait, providing door-to-door international delivery of items purchased from the UK and the US to savvy e-commerce shoppers.

Middle East e-commerce expansion

"Recognising the opportunity in the wider Middle East region, which has previously been underserved when it comes to e-commerce shipments, Emirates Delivers is preparing to significantly scale in 2024, offering fast, reliable, and cost-effective delivery solutions," the carrier said.

Throughout 2023, Emirates SkyCargo noted that it helped shape the digital landscape for cargo operations.

In addition to its own online booking platform on e-SkyCargo, the airline's capacity is now available on two of the biggest digital marketplaces, CargoAi and WebCargo with plans to further expand its digital footprint in early 2024.

In October, Emirates SkyCargo launched a host-to-host connection with global freight forwarder Kuehne+Nagel, providing direct access to its market-leading products and services on Kuehne+Nagel's internal booking engine.

Emirates SkyCargo noted that sustainability and the environment would be continued areas of investment in 2024.

Some of its ongoing initiatives are on-ground programmes that ensure 75% of all plastic sheeting in the airline's Dubai-based facilities is recycled by optimizing the way aircraft is loaded.

"More environmental and sustainably conscious operations will remain a priority for Emirates SkyCargo through 2024 and beyond," it said.

The carrier noted that as 2023 draws to a close, Emirates SkyCargo shows no signs of slowing down.

"Reflecting its confidence in the future of air logistics and to serve its customers in a dynamic landscape, Emirates SkyCargo has laid out ambitious growth plans, including investments in digital capabilities, adding 20 new destinations to its freighter network, and doubling existing capacity over the next decade," it said.