Sail and fly by air-ship
A shipping line goes its own way. MSC Air Cargo recently added a second Boeing B777F to its fleet, and took a majority stake in Italy’s Aliscargo Airlines. It has plans to take on two more wide-body freighters in the next six months and is seeking a new operating licence.
Before it bowed out of the team wooing ITA Airways, the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) was initially a part of the Lufthansa Group’s ultimately successful effort to acquire a minority stake in the Italian airline. Thereafter rumours emerged concerning MSC’s interest in another Italian freighter operator, Aliscargo Airlines, only founded in 2019 but already in turmoil of late.
On 3 August the two companies announced the entry of MSC as a majority stakeholder in Aliscargo Airlines, with the move set to be followed by a full takeover early next year. The airline, based at Milan MXP airport, is expected to be relaunched then, with the introduction into service of a Boeing B777F.
Furthermore, the transaction was presented as “a further step in the development of MSC Air Cargo’s operations,” and a move towards creating a European gateway and transit point for MSC’s airfreight solutions.
Giacomo Manzon, managing director of Aliscargo Airlines, said he that he’s “proud to see a group such as MSC joining us as a majority shareholder in Aliscargo.” Jannie Davel, senior vice-president of MSC Air Cargo since October last year, was also pleased to have found “a new partner that shares a common vision with us and which has created a strong foundation on which we intend to develop further.”
Solid foundation for future growth
In Atlas Air, MSC Air Cargo already has another partner on board. The subsidiary of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings took delivery of a second Boeing B777-200 full-freighter in mid-July (pictured), which it will operate for MSC on a long-term acmi basis. Two more such aeroplanes are set to be added in the next six months. This will help with the expansion of the carrier’s network, which currently serves destinations including Liege, Mexico City NLU, Indianapolis, Seoul and Xiamen.
“The delivery of the second aircraft to sport our livery represents the next strategic step towards offering customers further connections on key trade routes,” Davel pointed out. “We’ve laid a solid foundation for the expansion of our air cargo solutions through our cooperation with Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings.”