Air Belgium (KF, Brussels Charleroi) is evaluating adding full-freighter aircraft in the future as cargo is an important part of the start-up's revenue projections, Cargo Manager Europe Pascale Demieter has told CargoForwarder Global.

Demieter has refused to elaborate on the plan and has underlined that no firm decisions have been taken yet.

The Belgian start-up has recently launched its maiden scheduled route, connecting Brussels Charleroi with Hong Kong International. The airline currently operates two A340-300s and plans to add a further two units of the type imminently. Given the Airbus quadjets' large bellyhold cargo capacity, freight is already an important part of Air Belgium's business model. However, the airline has stressed that cargo revenues are seen just as an addition to the underlying profitability of the passenger operations.

Once the carrier decides to launch full-cargo operations, it would most likely also focus on Far Eastern Asian traffic. Air Belgium intends to establish a feeding network using trucks (RFS) as it had earlier ruled out launching its own European flights. The carrier intends to keep Charleroi as its base, also for the prospective cargo operations, and hopes to benefit from its superior efficiency and shorter handling times in comparison to Brussels National. Liège, an airport focused on cargo services, is not under consideration as an additional Air Belgium base.