French ocean freight giant CMA CGM Group has chosen ECS as the exclusive GSA for its new air division, CMA CGM Air Cargo, which will operate four Airbus A330-200 freighters out of Belgium’s Liège airport.
CMA CGM Air Cargo launched its first flight on 13 March between Liège and Chicago. The aim is to connect Europe to international markets – starting with the US.
With Liège (LGG) as its European base, CMA CGM Air Cargo will see a second Airbus A330-200F enter into service on 18 March, also serving the US. CMA CGM is using Air Belgium to operate the freighters.
CMA CGM Group is working with ECS via a global cargo capacity marketing partnership. The GSA has already set up dedicated teams in Europe and the US.
Adrien Thominet, ECS Group CEO, said: “ECS Group is extremely honoured to support this strategic move by CMA CGM, a group that is already an expert in chartering and logistics. Our flexibility, our sales network and our business know-how all mean we can amplify the added value the airline is looking for.”
ECS said that its sales teams are hard at work to market capacity on CMA CGM Air Cargo flights to freight forwarders. The teams will use the business Intelligence, revenue optimization and performance management tools developed in-house at ECS Group.
Frédéric Jacquet, CEO of Liege Airport, said: “We are really proud to be hosting a world-renowned group such as CMA CGM as it develops its cargo operations.
“A French family group that draws on the expertise of a Belgian company such as Air Belgium, works with Sabena Aerospace for its maintenance, and bases its aircraft at Liege Airport.
“What we have here is three companies coming together with the same overall ambition to grow and develop. The selection of Liege Airport shows once again not only that it has a prominent place in the world of cargo, but also and above all that it is playing an important role in a multimodal vision of logistics.”
