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CargoItalia diminuisce l'operatività dei voli e vuole sostituire gli aeromobili
Cargoitalia opts for bigger aircraft
mar, 17 mag 2011
All-cargo carrier cuts back on services with fuel-thirsty MD-11s and plans fleet of A330s
Despite suspending or cancelling planned services, all-cargo carrier Cargoitalia hopes to announce this year that it is to purchase up to five A330s in a bid to become more fuel efficient and achieve greater economies of scale.
The Italian carrier, which launched at the height of the air cargo market recession, currently operates three MD-11Fs, but has struggled with lack of demand on key routes and escalating fuel prices.
Giacomo Manzon, MD of Operations (pictured), told IFW:?“The weak China market is not giving immediate satisfaction.
“It has taught us that we have to expedite our new fleet project, so we are negotiating with Airbus for 330 acquisitions and keeping Boeing on hold on the possibility of buying 777s.”
He added: “To make profit on cargo you need to be very efficient and need fuel-efficient aircraft.”
Cargoitalia has suspended additional China services and has also dropped short-lived services to Atlanta and Toronto.
“It’s all about the intelligent use of aircraft,” said Manzon. “We want a good product, but need to be flexible at maintaining capacity according to demand.
“You need to be very intelligent with MD-11s because of the high fuel costs. We can’t see a reason to make a risky expansion with this fleet. But if your aircraft is competitive, you can be competitive.”
The carrier, which has a hub at Malpensa, Italy, hopes to capture some of the 80% of exports that are trucked out of the country. But plans for a five-strong fleet of new A330Fs will take some two years to come to fruition.
Manzon dismissed the idea, widely believed in the industry, that all-cargo carriers cannot survive with just a handful of aircraft unless they constantly seek new capitalisation.
“Equity is not everything. A businessneeds to be self-sustaining, and we are confident we can be.
“We have the chance to become an important player in the region.”
He acknowledged the carrier’s strong shareholders.
“We have five big players behind us, and that should give us the necessary solidity and equity.”
They include the family connected to the Benetton fashion business, an oil refinery and a bank.
da ifw-net.com
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