Al Rais takes delivery of second cargo plane

Al Rais Cargo airline has taken delivery of its second freighter and is considering further fleet expansion in the near future.

Hussain Tehrani, general manager of Al Rais Travel, said the fleet expansion was dictated by the strong demand for regional air cargo feeder services.

The latest freighter acquired by the airline, the UAE's first privately owned cargo airline, at a cost of $4 million is a Boeing 727-200 passenger aircraft converted to a freighter in the US. It can carry a 20 tonne payload.

"We have plans to expand our services in the region to cover Iraq, Iran, India, Yemen and Pakistan hubbing from Dubai," said Tehrani. The cargo airline was launched by Al Rais last December with an investment of $10 million and the aim of emerging as a major cargo feeder airline in the region, he said.

Its initial service was to Iraq with a Boeing 727F and it has expanded to Afghanistan with twice weekly services.

"Demand for regional air cargo tonnage is greater than the supply and we expect this to continue. Even with all the new airlines and expansion of cargo capacity there is enough business for us," said Tehrani.

"We are now looking for a third aircraft with long range capability. The possibility of entering the long haul routes is under study. But right now our focus is on building the regional feeder network," he said.