On 25 January 2016, the Stansted, UK-based freight airline was granted an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) by the national regulator, enabling it to carry out commercial air transportation operations. While it conducted ad-hoc flights since then, the carrier will now take the next step, offering their clients scheduled services. A big leap for the newcomer!
“You shouldn’t run before you can walk properly." This belief based on experience, is a fundamental part of Stephen Harvey’s attitude towards life, he is Chief Commercial Officer at CargoLogicAir
(CLA). Since first taking to the air in early 2016 until this very day, his freight carrier has got on its feet and managed to walk, literally speaking. Now it’s time to enter the next phase of
development and learn how to run.
Launching scheduled service
Next Saturday (19 August) the CLA managers will kick-off an endurance test with the start of a new chapter in the short history of the 2015 founded carrier. On this day, the first-ever line-haul
flight will be operated, taking off from Frankfurt via London Stansted and Atlanta to Mexico City. The route will be served twice weekly, with the aircraft departing in FRA on Wednesdays and
Saturdays. On the eastbound leg the Jumbo freighter stops over at Houston and goes on to Abu Dhabi, from where the next intercontinental Mexico rotation commences.
Long-term strategy
“Over many months we have thoroughly analyzed this routing, since being a fairly young company we intend to offer this product to the market as a long-term project, without changing things after
half a year or a year,” states Steve. Sticking to promises, following a transparent and sustainable policy for long periods of time, delivering an unrivalled level of service quality, reliability
and accountability, are values CLA will hold onto in the future, the manager assures.
Third frequency
Steve adds to this that he and his team will permanently review the performance of his company’s first scheduled flights. Being convinced of its commercial success even prior to any factual data
evidencing that the project has reaped benefits, he already speaks of a “third weekly Mexico frequency we will offer our customers before the end of this year.”
Positive customer reactions
On the occasion, Dmitry Grishin, CEO of CLA stated that “we are confident the routing we have chosen will appeal strongly to customers moving car spares, hi-tech, energy, aerospace and healthcare
products.” His words are echoed by Sten Rossby, CLA’s Chief Operating Officer who says: "Our growing air charter and ACMI operations have enabled us to establish the quality and reliability of
our services and this has also helped us to already achieve a high level of customer commitment to support our first scheduled operation.”
The Mexico / Abu Dhabi route will be operated by a Boeing 747-400 freighter equipped with a swing-up nose door, able to accommodate large and oversized shipments such as drilling equipment for
the oil and gas industry. The other two 747 freighters belonging to CLA’s fleet will continue being utilized for charter and ACMI missions as done before.
More freighters are to come
Steven stresses that according to his company’s five year business plan, a fourth B747F will be added to the fleet in Q1 of 2018, with a fifth Jumbo freighter following shortly after in summer of
next year. Both additional Boeing freighters will be leased, but the manager does not exclude operating other all-cargo aircraft in future times should market circumstances require different
transport solutions.
In a press release, CargoLogicAir points out that a number of new General Sales Agents (GSAs) have been appointed. These are AEROCHARTER in Mexico, AirCargoAmericas for covering the U.S. market
and AirFreightLogistics in Europe.
Heiner Siegmund