Emirates SkyCargo has taken the coveted top spot in the annual Air Cargo Excellence survey, moving up two spots from last year and beating cargo heavyweights Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines who finished second and third respectively.

The survey, conducted by the US based Air Cargo World, asks customers of the airlines to evaluate each carrier in four categories – value, IT, customer service and performance.

In the value category, judged on the competitiveness of the carrier’s rates and its value-added programmes, Emirates SkyCargo scored a full six points clear of the carrier in second place, the biggest gap in any of the categories.

Emirates also scored highly in the IT category where forwarders recognised the efficiencies afforded to them by the SkyChain system that Emirates tailors specifically to the requirements of each customer. SkyChain 3.0 was recently launched throughout the airline’s operations, replacing Skylog which was used as the ground handling system by Emirates SkyCargo.

Since it launched the e-freight initiative in November, Emirates SkyCargo has become the leading airline worldwide in terms of the number of e-freight consignments carried each week. It is estimated that e-freight saves the industry $4.9 billion annually through reduced inventories and document processing cost savings.

Ram Menen, Divisional Senior Vice President Cargo, said: “Emirates SkyCargo invested significantly in our facilities in 2008, enabling us to provide an even better service to our customers. We are now truly a 21st century entity with a 21st century systems and operations driving our business.”

The carrier’s new hub, the 1.2m-tonne-per-year capacity Cargo Mega Terminal, is acknowledged by the industry as one of the most modern and efficient cargo terminals in the world. Following its opening in February 2008, Emirates SkyCargo’s service failure rates were reduced to almost zero.

Emirates SkyCargo is represented in Malta by Cassar & Cooper Limited. Emirates flies on a daily schedule from Malta to Dubai via Larnaca, Cyprus. Enquiries on Emirates SkyCargo can be made at Air Cargo House, Ganni Vassallo Street, Luqa, on telephone number 2166-0102, or at [email protected].