Mediterranean Shipping Co., the world’s largest container line, will expand into air cargo using four leased Boeing Co. wide-body freighters after missing out in a bid for Italy’s flag-carrier airline.
The new business will led by Jannie Davel, a former managing director of cargo at Delta Air Lines Inc. who has also worked at Emirates and DHL, with the 777-200Fs to be provided by Atlas Air, which will fly them on MSC’s behalf.
“This is our 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,” MSC Chief Executive Officer Soren Toft said in a statement Monday.
Illustration courtesy MSC
The Swiss firm joins French rival CMA CGM SA in establishing an in-house air-freight fleet. CMA began flying cargo jets in 2021 and in May, swollen with profits generated during the coronavirus pandemic, agreed an alliance with Air France-KLM that included a stake of as much as 9% in the debt-laden airline.
A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S also agreed in 2021 to lease three Boeing 767 freighters and purchase two new 777Fs, to be operated and managed by cargo specialist Star Air.
Still, the news from MSC comes as container shippers confront a downturn as weaker demand pushes prices to their lowest in more than two years. Air-freight volumes are also dipping and had returned to near pre-Covid levels as of July, down 10% from a year earlier.
MSC spent the past year increasing its ship capacity while bidding for Italian state carrier ITA Airways, an approach that was rejected last month by the outgoing Italian government in favor of one from an investor group including Air France-KLM and Delta.
It’s not yet clear whether the sale decision will change now that Giorgia Meloni, who had opposed it, is poised to lead the country’s most right-wing government since World War II, or if MSC remains interested.
Columbia Group, an integrated maritime services and logistics platform, and Crowley have entered into a strategic cooperation agreement to enhance their ship management solutions, leveraging their expertise in maritime, logistics,...
By Alex Longley (Bloomberg) — Group of Seven sanctions aimed at depriving the Kremlin of petrodollars are failing in one of their key objectives: driving up the cost of delivering Russian...
C-Innovation’s multi-purpose offshore vessel Dino Chouest has departed from Port Fourchon, Louisiana, and is enroute to Providence, Rhode Island, to support an upcoming expedition to the RMS Titanic wreck site....
12 hours ago
Total Views: 936
Why Join the gCaptain Club?
Access exclusive insights, engage in vibrant discussions, and gain perspectives from our CEO.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.