Cargoitalia will launch its challenge to foreign airlines that have cornered Italy's air cargo market in the past three months with a new freighter service between Milan and New York in early May.
The Italian all-cargo carrier, which has been grounded since last fall, will deploy an MD-11 freighter acquired from Alitalia Cargo on the New York service starting May 2. The service will also call at Toronto and Abu Dhabi on the return flight to Milan's Malpensa airport.
The carrier, which will start operations with two MD-11 freighters, will later offer service to Hong Kong, Shanghai, Mumbai and Dubai.
Cargoitalia paid around $19.6 million for the cargo assets of Alitalia, Italy's national airline. Alitalia grounded its five MD-11 freighters in January after the CAI investment group that paid $1.3 billion for the bankrupt carrier declined to take over its unprofitable cargo business.
Alcide Leali, Cargoitalia's owner, said the carrier plans to become market leader in Italy and one of Europe's biggest cargo carriers. It expects to generate revenue of around $540 million and to break even by 2011 when it will be flying five former Alitalia Cargo MD-11 freighters.
The airline plans to boost its cargo fleet with eight Airbus A330-200F freighters in 2012.
Foreign carriers took advantage of Alitalia's demise to enter the Italian cargo market, Europe's second largest. Lufthansa is operating twice weekly freighter flights between Malpensa and New York and Chicago and its recently established Italian airline is carrying freight on domestic routes. Its Chinese joint venture airline Jade Cargo International operates four freighter flights a week between Brescia, northern Italy, and Shanghai and Shenzhen.
Cargolux, the Luxembourg-based all cargo carrier, plans to start long haul freighter services from Italy this month and the "new" Alitalia also is mulling a return to cargo operations.
The Journal of Commerce Online
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