Parcels and ULDs for its birthday
ITA Airways Cargo chooses its first digital distribution channel. Just over a year ago, on 15 October 2021, ITA Airways took over the mantle of Italian flag carrier from Alitalia. The pandemic of the time didn’t exactly make it an ideal moment to take off in the passenger business. Now Italy’s new national carrier has giving its global cargo customers a present on its first birthday by entering into a partnership with the airfreight platform Cargo One.
ITA Airways Cargo and the German logistics IT services provider Cargo One have entered into a new global airfreight partnership. The agreement will make the capacities of Italy’s national carrier accessible on the German firm’s digital air cargo booking platform.
For thousands of freight forwarders operating worldwide, the young airline’s first digital air cargo marketing channel will open up easier access to capacity for cargo flights operated by the SkyTeam Cargo member to and from Italy, as well as within the country.
Set to develop on three pillars
Expanding its digital distribution solutions is one of the important strategic pillars in ITA Airways Cargo’s development plan – along with quality services and sustainable operations. The goal of the scheme is to accelerate the transformation of air cargo management processes, systems and culture. Through digital connectivity, ITA Airways Cargo aims to reinforce its value proposition and put together an offer that provides its clientele with fast first-class services that give them even more control over their shipments.
As Italy’s national freight airline, ITA Airways Cargo offers high connectivity to forwarders serving the Italian market. The airline’s base, Rome FCO airport, and its RFS network, which covers a large area, are amongst the main strengths of its cargo division, which celebrated its first anniversary on 15 October.
A green blue fleet
By the end of this year ITA Airways’ modern fleet, which goes easier on the environment than previously, will include 78 aircraft (26 more than twelve months previously), 13 of which will be wide-bodied units (+6). From the end of 2025 onwards ITA says its fleet will include 105 aircraft, 23 of which will be widebodies, and 70% of which will be aircraft of the latest generation. This will make the airline the greenest carrier operating in all of Europe.
Moritz Claussen, co-CEO of Cargo One, which he founded in 2017, said that “we’re proud to contribute to the growth of ITA Airways Cargo by providing it with its first digital marketing channel.”
Looking at the digital sales trajectory
This is a significant step towards ITA’s digital transformation. The timing for promoting digital cargo sales seems right. Cargo One’s latest pan-industry report on the sector’s ‘digital sales trajectory’ shows that all of the airlines surveyed expect the share of bookings made through digital channels to increase from 20% in 2021 to 40% in 2023 and 60% in 2025.
The conclusion is that airlines with a multi-channel commercial structure can gain competitive advantages in the long term if they make their customers’ needs and systematic digital transformation a priority.