Emirates SkyCargo and SAS Cargo have added a freighter service between Dubai-Gothenburg and Dubai-Hong Kong. The new service, to start March 29 with a Boeing 747-400F, will fly to Gothenburg every Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday and to Hong Kong every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday in partnership with SAS Cargo.

"Emirates SkyCargo and SAS have experienced a wonderful win-win relationship over the past three months, and we have decided to extend our partnership with an additional flight both to Gothenburg and Hong Kong. This is a fine example of Emirates SkyCargo's proactive partnerships with other key players in the industry and our success in catalysing trade and easing capacity constraints," said Hiran Perera, Emirates' VP Cargo - Freighters.

Currently, Emirates SkyCargo carries toys and fabrics from Hong Kong, as well as computer chips and hi-tech components for Scandinavia's manufacturing industry, mainly the telecommunication equipments sector. From Gothenburg, the main cargo exports include finished telecommunication products, vehicle spare parts and pharmaceuticals.

"With this third frequency we will be able to offer optimal solutions to our customers in Scandinavia, as the freighter's departure schedules fit very well into the production schedules of local industries. Furthermore, it will enable us to meet the increasing demand for capacity from Hong Kong, which will enhance business opportunities and logistics solutions," said Kenneth Marx, President and CEO of SAS Cargo Group A/S. "Emirates SkyCargo has been extremely flexible in the planning of this additional frequency and we look forward to continuing our cooperation in the future."

The additional service means that Emirates SkyCargo's freighters will serve Gothenburg five times a week, twice on its way to New York every Saturday and Wednesday, and will operate to Hong Kong nine times a week. Emirates SkyCargo's route network cover 78 destinations in 55 countries on five continents. The cargo-only destinations served by its freighters include Budapest, Liege, Gothenburg, Amsterdam, Bangalore, Dalian and Taipei. Its freighters also serve other busy trade routes which are Emirates' passenger destinations, such as New York, Milan, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Amman, Istanbul, Johannesburg, Lahore, Mumbai, Chennai, Dhaka, Bangkok, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Emirates launched services to Seychelles in January and will start flying to Seoul, Hamburg and Geneva later in the year. In June, Emirates SkyCargo will receive the first of its three A310-300 freighters with a payload capacity of 39 tonnes each; and in 2008 it will receive the first of its two Airbus 380Fs, with a payload capacity of 150 tonnes each.