KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 19 — With International Air Transport Association estimating demand in 2022 to exceed 2019 levels by 13 per cent with cargo revenue expected to rise to over RM670 billion, Raya Airways Sdn Bhd is ramping up efforts towards a promising future.

Raya is committing to invest resources, effort and time in further strengthening its fleet of freighter aircraft, network of routes and hiring new talent to deliver on its Resilience Blueprint.

Group managing director Mohamad Najib Ishak said Raya has strengthened its strategy to leverage the burgeoning ecommerce sector and adopt a long-term approach, instead of just applying short-term tactical solutions.

"The ambition is to constantly push our boundaries and achieve higher results,” he said in a statement today.

With a team of close to 450 staff members, covering regional hubs such as China, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and Hong Kong as well as prime commercial centres in Sabah and Sarawak, the company is pushing boundaries to make its mark in the fast-growing freight service sector.

Raya has identified venturing into new markets and making new inroads in existing ones to be key drivers of its future growth — to this end it has increased the average weekly load to its latest destination of Nanning, China to 120 tonnes, a three-fold growth compared to when it started plying this route in June last year, giving it a huge competitive edge, especially in the ecommerce sector.

Raya currently has an average weekly combined load and capacity for all flights plus all destinations of between 1,700 and 1,900 tonnes, made possible with its three Boeing 767-200F and one Boeing 737-400F.

Specifically on the Nanning route, Raya serves this route three times a week utilising its Boeing 767-200F aircraft — this route carries all shipments that include e-commerce products, industrial goods as well as perishable items.

In staying ahead of the curve in terms of technology and innovation, Raya recently announced its tie-up with Pen Aviation, setting it on track to be the first Malaysian freight service provider in Asean to operate cargo drones. — Bernama