Silk Way’s Kamran Gasimov opens door to further U.S. expansion

Earlier this fall, Silk Way West Airlines, the scheduled-service subsidiary of the Silk Way Group, launched twice-weekly flights from its home base in Baku, Azerbaijan, directly to Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD). Although the carrier has been operating similar scheduled flights to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) with its 747-8F for nearly two years, recent regulatory changes made this new route, and potential future expansion in the United States, a possibility. Most notably, an open skies agreement between the U.S. and Azerbaijan, signed in 2015, pushed the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to finally issue a long-awaited exemption.

Meanwhile, since March the carrier has been increasingly active in Southeast Asia, where it has partnered with Malaysian Airlines’ cargo subsidiary, MAB Kargo, to carry freight on long-haul routes between Europe and Asia. Shortly after Silk Way West freighters began landing at ORD, Air Cargo World sat down with the company’s CEO Kamran Gasimov to discuss the carrier’s plans in the United States, and globally.

Q: Could you discuss Silk Way West Airlines’ medium-term strategy for entering the U.S. market?

The U.S. market has always been a strategic target for Silk Way West’s global network. Our medium term strategy could best be described as establishing top-tier scheduled service from our two U.S. gateways while meeting the market demand for our global destinations. Prior to launching our direct nonstop service from Baku to New York in May 2015, we sold our Caspian destinations through our interline partners and representative offices in Houston, New York and Miami. With the success of our direct JFK to Baku Heydar Aliyev International Airport (GYD) service and a constant need for capacity, we found it necessary to meet the market demand and launch two additional flights to Chicago this September.

Q: What kind of role will the U.S. market play in Silk Way West’s future strategy?

Our long-term strategy is to enter target markets within the U.S., as they relate to our already established destinations throughout the Caspian region, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, etc. That’s to say that if a region of the U.S. has traffic to one of our destination areas and isn’t currently being served, or there is an opportunity to add capacity, we would definitely want to explore that as an additional gateway. Our goal is not so much to be everywhere in the world, but rather to answer the demands of the market while providing dependable first-class service to our customers.

Q: Beyond Chicago, for example, what are some other gateways on Silk Way West’s radar?

Chicago always was, and still is, definitely one of the more important cargo gateways in the U.S. for Silk Way West, however we are also considered Miami. Further afoot, South America is another market we are interested in entering, and Miami would provide us with a great entry/exit hub.

Q: How is Silk Way West’s strategic partnership with MAB Kargo proceeding?

As part of an expansion on our original partnership from three years ago, MAB Kargo and Silk Way West Airlines signed a memorandum of cooperation in March [2016] that will see both airlines leveraging each other’s aircraft fleet and network in different regions of the world. This strategic partnership is comprised of a block-space agreement (BSA) on a twice-weekly route between Kuala Lumpur and Amsterdam via GYD in Azerbaijan. As they, MAB Kargo, experienced a new transformation in their business, we found an opportunity to contribute by stepping into their historical routes in order to help them sustain their market presence. While we have had other agreements and interline partnerships in the past, we had never had this type and level of partnership and cooperation before.

Q: Does Silk Way plan to form similar partnerships with other carriers across the globe?

Obviously, we are always looking forward to other market possibilities that would bring about positive change during a very competitive and turbulent time for cargo carriers.

Q: To support some of these growth initiatives, what other plans do you have for SWW’s fleet?

Silk Way West took delivery of another brand-new 747-8F around the middle of August as part of our long-term partnership program with Boeing. Additionally, we will be adding another one to our fleet in the first half of 2017. By operating a unique single type of aircraft, we are able to increase frequencies to our existing destinations in the Far East and also add some interesting destinations to our network.