Etihad Crystal Cargo Announces Groundbreaking Partnership with WCA Family of Logistic Networks

Etihad Crystal Cargo has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to be the first cargo airline to act as a vendor within the WCA Family network. Etihad Crystal Cargo is the fast growing cargo division of Etihad Airways.

The announcement was made today at the 8th Sino-International Freight Forwarders Conference in Shanghai.

This innovative programme will allow WCA Family members to access Etihad Crystal Cargo’s global network of 84 destinations. WCA Family is the largest grouping of independent freight forwarders in the World, with close to 4,000 member offices in more than 640 cities and ports worldwide.

Roy Kinnear, Senior Vice President Cargo at Etihad stated: “At a time when we are enhancing service from Asia to the Indian Subcontinent and into Africa, we are very excited about this MoU with WCA Family and expect to be able to deliver exceptional value and routings to their members.

“In our industry the issue of credit can be an administrative and financial burden especially for the smaller independent forwarder. This agreement allows WCA Family members to leverage the strength of the Etihad relationship with WCA Family to provide an airway bill facility on behalf of its members. This means all WCA Family agents will now have access to Etihad Crystal Cargo’s full booking facility.

“In simple terms, if you are already trading with Etihad, it’s business as usual. However if you need access to more choice for your airfreight, this unique initiative allows you to begin transactions with Etihad quickly, founded on the strength of the Etihad relationship with WCA Family. Etihad’s worldwide sales network stands ready to support WCA Family’s needs with creative airfreight solutions.”

WCA Family President, David Yokeum, is certain that the deal will bring major benefits to independent forwarders and that the relationship will only strengthen in the future – bringing even greater rewards to the sector. “Etihad, as a company, has shown great vision by thinking outside the box and forging this partnership with a private organisation. I would like to commend Etihad Crystal Cargo for having the foresight and drive to engage so productively with the independent forwarding community.”

This is the first such MoU between a forwarding network and an airline. Both Etihad and the WCA Family are committed to making this a win-win situation for both parties.