Saudi Airlines Cargo Co. reached an agreement with Fast Forward Cargo in the United Arab Emirates by increasing its frequencies to West Africa from Dubai World Central.

Under an agreement signed by both parties, the new partnership will operate what is equivalent to 175 combined Boeing 747 flights between the UAE and West Africa, connecting mainly to Lagos in Nigeria and N'Djamena in Chad via Saudia Cargo’s HUBs in Riyadh and Jeddah.

“Saudia Cargo has been instrumental in helping us reach a dominant position in West Africa where, over the last five years, we have grown to be one of the biggest logistics solutions providers from our base in Sharjah and Dubai,” commented Al Ameen, chief executive offer of Fast Forward. “We are honored to have been awarded a further contract extension by the airline and see Saudia’s confidence as a reward for the commitment shown by our staff and the company overall,” he added. 

“The renewal of the contract with Fast Forward further strengthens our position in the UAE to Africa air cargo market,” remarked Peter Scholten, vice president commercial at Saudia Cargo. “The weekly commitment from Fast Forward is an Important client on our 2 weekly freighter flights to N’Djamena and a large contributor to our daily freighter flights to Lagos.”

Saudi Airlines Cargo Company operates scheduled freighter services with 13 freighters and sells the belly-capacity on 145 passenger aircraft for Saudi Arabia’s flag carrier Saudia, 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.

Fast Forward Cargo is part of the Fast Forward Group. Headquartered in Dubai, the commercial and trading hub of the GCC, the cargo company began operating one decade ago and is today one of the leading freight forwarders to the West African market.