Atlas Air, ocean carrier MSC establish airfreight service

Atlas Air and ocean carrier Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) have entered into a long-term aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance (ACMI) agreement. MSC Air Cargo will begin operations in early 2023, upon delivery of four new 777-200Fs. Purchase, N.Y.-based Atlas Air will operate the aircraft for Geneva-based MSC under the agreement, according to today’s release from Atlas. The first freighter is expected later this year and the other three early next year, growing Atlas’ fleet to 18 777Fs, according to Air Cargo World’s sister publication Cargo Facts . This is MSC’s first official move to airfreight. The company was rumored to be partnering with Lufthansa in August to purchase ITA Airways, according to local reports, but the deal was not confirmed. [caption id="attachment_57132253" align="alignnone" width="1147"] Photo / MSC[/caption] “This strategic partnership with Atlas Air is the first step into this market, and we plan to continue exploring various avenues to develop air cargo in a way that complements our core business of container shipping,” Soren Toft, MSC chief executive officer, said in today’s release. The four aircraft will be MSC-branded but operated by Atlas, according to MSC’s release. MSC appointed Jannie Davel to develop its air cargo business. Davel most recently served as managing director, commercial at Delta Cargo, and previously was vice president of cargo commercial operations Americas for Emirates SkyCargo and senior vice president airfreight Americas and USA head of airfreight for DHL, according to the release. See also : Top 3 shipping lines to offer 777F capacity Expanding from ocean to air The other leading ocean shippers , Denmark-based Maersk and France-based CMA CGM, have also moved into airfreight capacity as ocean lines continued to face snarls this year. Maersk in April established Maersk Air Cargo , which is based out of Billund airport (BLL) and includes Star Air, the shipper’s in-house air operator. Maersk has also acquired various forwarders as it strengthens its multimodal offerings. CMA CGM launched its own cargo airline in 2021 and partnered with Air France-KLM in May to share freighter and belly cargo capacity, with an additional 12 freighters on order . CMA CGM Air Cargo currently owns four freighters. Freight forwarders have expressed displeasure at ocean carriers’ moves toward vertical integration in the past year, which the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA) claims came from profits “generated within a protected environment of regulatory and tax exemptions,” according to a July statement. The profits “are being directed towards mergers and acquisitions outside of [carriers] port-to-port activities to dominate the entire door-to-door logistics chain, resulting in unprecedented market concentration,” according to FIATA. Atlas holds up the world Atlas Air was purchased by an Apollo-led investor group earlier this year and the deal, subject to customary closing conditions, should close in Q4 or Q1 2023. The carrier operates 108 aircraft and is the largest operator of 747 jets, according to Cargo Facts . Atlas Air ranked No. 8 among the world's top cargo carriers based on 2021 tonnage, according to preliminary data from IATA.

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