Freight DogsFinally a forum for those midnight prowler types who utilise the unglamorous parts of airports that many of us never get to see. Freight Dogs is for pilots and crew who operate mostly without SLF.
18-Jun-2008 : AIR Cargo News has learned that Cargolux has entered into negotiations with ailing Italian freighter airline, Cargoitalia, over a possible buy-out.
Sources in Italy indicated that a deal could be completed in 20 days and would provide Cargolux with a long-held ambition for greater access to the Italian market, as well as useful Asian traffic rights.
Any deal is likely to involve Cargolux dry-leasing two 747-400Fs to its new subsidiary, basing the aircraft in Milan. This would preclude the need for trucking to Luxembourg.
However, what is not clear is what liabilities Cargolux would incur in any deal.
“We have been approached by Cargoitalia management to look at various forms of co-operation, for which discussions have been initiated. At this stage, it is too early to comment on any possible outcome,” said Robert Van de Weg (above), senior vice-president sales & marketing.
Story is that CV management regard the current fuel crisis as a golden opportunity to watch the weaker competition disappear or become vulnerable to buy out.
The Cargoitalia deal means that CV can lease 2 of their a/c out to a wholly owned subsiduary. It gives the accountants some more means of creatively playing with the financials. There has been some involvement between Cargoitalia and another CV subsiduary company in the past couple of years as well, so there was already a "line of communication" in place.
I'm not an airline executive, I can't answer that question, however, <speculation>if CV do become involved in buying up cargoitalia I can't see why any right minded person would want to keep a scabby old fuel hog DC10-30F when you have access to a few -400Fs which are going to be sold or sub-leased when the -800F is introduced. If CV want to reduce capacity due to fuel prices/increased comeptition/whatever bumping a couple of excess -400s off to a "new" MXP base would have it's own twisted logic.
Given CV management's enthusiasm for spin offs and joint ventures, you just never know what might be coming in the near future...</speculation>
I believe Cargolux have already sold on four of their 744's for onward delivery as and when the 800's start appearing. As an aside, I was parked next to a Gemini MD-11 in Accra last week which had a logo on the starboard side purporting to be working with CargoItalia......
Gemini flew 2 MD-11 for CRG, currently CH 11, Tradewinds took over from them with 2 742F, ceased operations, and now Southern Air is carrying the torch. Lets hope the same fate does not befall them that their predecessors that flew for the White Pelican encountered.
"Gemini flew 2 MD-11 for CRG, currently CH 11, Tradewinds took over from them with 2 742F, ceased operations, and now Southern Air is carrying the torch. Lets hope the same fate does not befall them that their predecessors that flew for the White Pelican encountered."
The only reason that CV is "looking" into CargoItalia is because of MXP slots and routes in and out...
Dont think so, MXP airport would be happy to give some slots to CV, after AZ left it became very quite at MXP, also CRG does not have so many slots or routes to offer. CRG contacted CV, maybe they think about it to get a bigger pice of the italian market, but its not said that they will get inti CRG at the end.
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with apple compote, of course.
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