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First direct order for the group’s airfreight division
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777 freighters will support group’s expansion into airfreight market
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Fuel efficient twin-engine freighter has a maximum payload of 102 tonnes
Global shipping and logistics group CMA CGM announced on September 29 the purchase of two new Boeing 777 freighters, its first direct order for its airfreight operations.
CMA CGM launched its dedicated airfreight division, CMA CGM Air Cargo, in February 2021. To support this expansion, the French transport group bought in March four Airbus A330-200F freighter aircraft. The 60-tonne-payload aircraft came into service between 2014 and 2016.
CMA CGM Air Cargo began commercial operations in March with its first flight between Liege (Belgium) and Chicago, followed by flights to New York, Atlanta, and Dubai.
Rodolphe Saadé, chairman and CEO of CMA CGM, earlier said this expansion was a major milestone in the development of the company’s logistics services and was in response to the growing demand for agile logistics solutions.
The air cargo operations represent a major new component of the group in both operational and commercial terms, CMA CGM said in its September 29 statement. The business is also a new milestone in the group’s strategic development into logistics.
The Boeing 777 will provide the air cargo team the flexibility to operate the airplane across its growing airfreight network, help it to deliver on its sustainability objectives, and enable it to offer customers a complete range of transportation and logistics solutions, CMA CGM said.
The 777 freighter is the world’s largest, longest range, and most capable twin-engine freighter. With a range of 9,200 kilometers, it can carry a maximum payload of 102 tonnes, allowing CMA CGM Air Cargo to make fewer stops and reduce landing fees on long-haul routes.
The 777 freighter is Boeing’s top-selling freighter of all time, recording 272 orders since the program began in 2005.
The CMA CGM group’s 542 container ships serve more than 420 ports around the world and transported in 2020 nearly 21 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units) containers. With its logistics arm, CEVA Logistics, CMA CGM handles 400,000 tons of airfreight and 2.8 million tons of inland freight every year.
Photo from CMA CGM
