Saudi Airlines Cargo will operate four direct freighter flights per week from Frankfurt to Saudi Arabia and two direct flights per week from Vienna to Saudi Arabia, connecting directly with Hong Kong and the Far East starting March 25, 2012. "We are extremely excited to be introducing these new services from Frankfurt and Vienna, which will provide a great boost to our existing activities in Europe where we currently operate scheduled freighters from Brussels, Amsterdam and Milan," said Peter Scholten, VP Commercial at Saudi Airlines Cargo. "Frankfurt is the financial and transportation center of Germany, the largest and most important market in the European Union, while Vienna is the gateway to Eastern Europe. Offering a high frequency of services from these key cities with direct connections to the Far East will allow us to grow our business as well as to expand our activities into Eastern Europe," he added. The airline will use B-747 freighters in Frankfurt and MD11s in Vienna. Frankfurt Airport ranks among the world's 10 largest cargo hubs and is conveniently located in the middle of the Rhine-Main metropolitan area, an economic powerhouse. The airport is very close to numerous production facilities and is connected to an excellent road and rail infrastructure. Numerous freight forwarders have an active presence at the airport, including seven of the world's largest IATA forwarders. Strategically located in the East of Austria, Vienna Airport serves as the primary hub to Eastern Europe. With direct access to important transport corridors to the East, Vienna is located directly in the growth markets of Central and Eastern Europe. Saudi Airlines Cargo operates scheduled freighter services with 12 freighters and sells the belly-capacity on 140 passenger aircraft for Saudi Arabian Airlines spanning a rapidly expanding global network of 225 destinations. The cargo airline also provides cost-effective and practical worldwide charter flight solutions from a growing fleet of dedicated charter aircraft.
