3 June 2015: Etihad Cargo, the freight division of the United Arab Emirates’ national airline Etihad Airways, has launched a new service in conjunction with the World Cargo Alliance (WCA), the world’s largest network of independent freight forwarders, and Worldwide Information Network (WIN), the IT provider.

The platform, which is the first of its kind in the cargo industry, has been launched to provide special rates for selected origins and destinations on the Etihad Cargo network. It applies to WCA members who are also members of Etihad Cargo's loyalty program, CargoConnect, and use the WIN e-platform, for all booking and air waybill transactions.  In one location, the platform will offer instant pricing for all online Etihad origins and destinations, e-booking, e-air waybill plus track and trace.

David Kerr, Vice President of Etihad Cargo, said: “Part of our continuing growth story will be underscored by our ability to meet the needs of our customers, in a rapidly evolving cargo market, whether they are a large multi-national company or a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) user that needs to send goods and services around the world to grow their business.

“By continuing to develop our partnership with the WCA network and achieve firsts in the industry, we can continue to meet the needs of our growing customer base.”

Membership of CargoConnect is free and gives members the benefit of exclusive pricing as a WCA member, while allowing users to earn Etihad Guest Miles for all cargo shipped on Etihad Airways.  Miles can be used to redeem against flights, upgrades or thousands of products from the airline’s online Rewards Shop. 

CargoConnect rewards companies for every booking made with the UAE-based cargo operator which recently secured its 3000^th member. Built on a similar platform to the award-winning Etihad Guest frequent flyer program, CargoConnect is targeted at the SME segment of the global cargo business.

WCA-registered CargoConnect members can also use their miles to book their flights or upgrades to Abu Dhabi for the WCA First and Worldwide Conference being held between 10-16^th March 2016.  WCA recently announced its annual global conference would be held in the capital of the UAE, where it is expected to attract around 2,500 freight forwarder delegates, and will be held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC).

From today, all WCA members who are registered with the Etihad Airways’ CargoConnect program will now be able to work closer with Etihad Cargo.