OREANDA-NEWS  On 08 December was announced, that Ukraine International Airlines signed a further cooperation agreement with European Cargo Services that provide sales representation for cargo services across Europe and worldwide.

The exclusive contract with ECS who operate 32 subsidiaries in 22 countries, gives UIA a unique opportunity to substantially expand its cargo transportation network and gain access to a worldwide market.  The agreement will allow UIA to deliver cargo not only to countries with a direct connection to Ukraine but also to additional markets in Western Europe, North America and South-East Asia.

“The contract for 2009 is a positive extension of our strategic cooperation with ECS geared toward providing our clients with a much wider operation that will further utilize our expanding scheduled network and also our Boeing 737-300SF freighter,” said Peter Kukharchuk, UIA Logistics and Cargo Director. “This contract considerably extends our capabilities to offer high quality cargo services to a wider range of clients.”

Ukraine International has developed a profitable cargo business carrying cargo in the belly hold of its passenger aircraft. This business will continue to grow and will be supplemented by the Boeing 737-300SF freighter delivered to UIA in July of this year. The B737SF is already proving to be a very worthwhile investment with cargo tonnage increasing month on month.  The aircraft is equipped with the industry standard ULD (Unit Load Device) compartment allowing large quantities of cargo to be packed onto specially designed pallets.  The aircraft has an overall payload capacity of 20 metric tons and utilizes the latest technologies allowing transportation of a wide variety of cargos from regular postal payloads to specialized and non-standard cargoes.

Based on current demand for cargo services UIA is considering leasing an additional Boeing 737-300SF freighter in 2009.