Air France-KLM could be looking to take full commercial control of CMA CGM Air Cargo (2C, Paris CDG), the air cargo division of French logistics giant CMA CGM, observers in the sector have told The Loadstar.

CMA CGM Air Cargo itself was founded early in 2021, and one month before the shipping line announced plans in May 2022 to acquire a stake of up to 9% in Air France-KLM as part of a long-term strategic partnership, it appointed Mark Sutch, an experienced veteran from Cathay Pacific’s cargo division, to head the unit’s commercial team.

Now, however, after working on redeveloping its nascent routes in an effort to make them profitable, Sutch has left the carrier. According to a “knowledgeable source”, he had opted to leave as he understood he would no longer be managing the commercial side of the airline after the proposed joint venture with the state-owned Franco-Dutch group.

“He was employed on the understanding that CMA was building a standalone all-cargo airline, but following the JV announcement, the goalposts moved. In the new joint venture, it is AF-KLM that will assume the commercial lead, at least for the first couple of years, thus the scope is very different,” the insider told The Loadstar.

Another source expressed regret that CMA’s standalone airline project had not been taken forward and that the deal basically makes CMA CGM a capacity provider to Air France-KLM.

“This sounds like a backdown in strategy by CMA. It was naive in thinking it could just start up without proper advice or planning. This places Air France in charge, and that means more of the same old-school thinking, which eventually leaves the likes of DHL and Maersk as the winners,” said one more observer.

Nevertheless, CMA CGM insisted in a statement: “This exclusive partnership will see both parties combine their complementary cargo networks, full freighter capacity, and dedicated services in order to build an even more competitive offer. Both carriers will remain independent: AOCs and staff shall remain under the current partners’ entity contract.”

Air France-KLM did not immediately respond to ch-aviation’s request for comment.