China's Hongyuan eyes 49% stake in Air Belgium - report

CMA CGM Air Cargo launches with wet-lease ops

France's CMA CGM adds first B777 freighter; orders two more

CMA CGM Air Cargo (CMA, Paris CDG) took delivery of its first aircraft on June 1 following the arrival of B777-F F-HMRB (msn 67460) at Paris CDG from Everett.

Although CMA CGM Air Cargo has already been active albeit using Air Belgium (KF, Brussels Charleroi) to operate its four A330-200Fs under an CMI contract, F-HMRB is the first aircraft to be added by the nascent French carrier as part of its AOC certification drive with the French authorities. It has a second B777-F due from Boeing (BOE, Washington National) - F-HMRF (msn 67461) - which is also expected shortly.

CMA CGM says it ordered two more B777-Fs in April this year to be delivered in 2024. And aside from these freighters, it also has plans to acquire four A350-900 freighters from Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) with options for four more.

CMA CGM partners Air France-KLM, to acquire equity

French logistics giant CMA CGM plans to acquire a stake of up to 9% in Air France-KLM as part of a long-term strategic partnership.

In a joint statement, the two firms said the initial agreement will be for ten years and will see both parties combine their complementary cargo networks, full freighter capacity and dedicated facilities in order to build more competitive services.

In terms of aerial operations, the duo will operate a combined fleet of ten dedicated freighter aircraft (with an additional combined 12 on order) distributed as follows:

• four with CMA CGM Air Cargo (CMA, Paris CDG) (with outstanding orders for an additional eight aircraft, two of which may be operated by Air France-KLM in the future);
• six with Air France-KLM based at Paris CDG and Amsterdam Schiphol (with outstanding orders for an additional four).

The partnership also covers Air France-KLM’s bellyhold capacity, including over 160 long-haul aircraft, and will see both parties leveraging their respective global sales teams.

In terms of the equity buy-in, CMA CGM...

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