OREANDA-NEWS  On 22 October was announced, that UIA, the only scheduled air cargo service provider in Ukraine extends cooperation with its international partners and increases the frequency of flights for its new 737-300SF freighter.  The first 10 days of operation have seen high demand for the UIA cargo services fully utilizing the aircraft capacity

Ukraine International Airlines launched a new schedule of cargo flights on the Vienna-Liege-Vienna route in conjunction with the international integrated delivery service provider TNT and as an extension of it’s existing Kiev – Vienna – Kiev route.  The daily service between these Austrian and Belgian destinations are operated Monday to Friday using the Boeing 737-300SF freighter aircraft that entered service with UIA in June of this year.

The launch of this scheduled freighter service that connects key Western European cargo hubs was made possible after signing of a code sharing agreement - when two or more airlines use a common flight number to provide services on a given route - with TNT on 06 August 2008. The compatibility of both Boeing 737 cargo fleets and support systems and UIA’s high safety and quality standards were also important reason for the partnership.

According to the agreement UIA operates daily Monday to Friday freighter flights on the Kiev-Vienna-Liege-Vienna-Kiev route.  The daily Kiev-Vienna-Kiev cargo flights are operated by UIA jointly with Austrian Airlines and connect with the Vienna-Liege-Vienna flights operated by UIA with TNT Express to provide a seamless freight operation.

The scheduled freighter flight on the Kiev-Vienna-Kiev route has been operated by UIA jointly with Austrian Cargo, a freight services division of Austrian Airlines, since late 2003.  The route was initially served by a specially modified Antonov 12 aircraft, with just one return flight per week.  Due to the unprecedented demand in high-quality cargo services, this was increased to 5 flights per week.  The addition of the Boeing 737-300SF freighter to UIA’s fleet has ensured a much smoother operation and gives both partners clear competitive advantages.  The aircraft features a fully compatible modern loading system and has an overall capacity of 18,000 kg with a maximum volume of 120 m3.  The aircraft has 9 upper floor pallet positions on which all conventional aircraft cargo pallets can be loaded.  This enables the two airlines to forward freight as quickly as possible without the need for additional ground handling.

“This latest addition of a modern, world-standard freighter aircraft to UIA’s fleet has substantially strengthened our transport capacities making us a unique partner in this region for TNT and making our cargo product portfolio even more attractive” said Peter Kukharchuk, UIA Logistics and Cargo Director. “In the three months the freighter is in operation we have witnessed that the Boeing 737-300SF is much more fuel efficient, environmentally-friendly and costs less to operate and maintain compared to our previous aircraft.”

To meet the constantly growing demand for the airline’s high-value transport services and to expand the product offerings within the renewed Cargo Solutions Portfolio, UIA is planning to bring an additional Boeing 737-300SF to their fleet in early 2009.