Atlas Air trims Anchorage operations as Fairbanks emerges as fallback
Atlas Air appears to be adjusting its Alaskan operations as pressure builds at Anchorage, with new ...
By Alex Lennane
CMA CGM Air Cargo has reportedly declined to take on the leases of two A330-200P2Fs, which had been operated by its new subsidiary, Air Belgium.
The two aircraft, owned by lessor Altavair AirFinance, are expected to be returned in the coming weeks.
The decision leaves Air Belgium with two 747-8Fs, the first of the type for CMA CGM: one is parked, the other is flying between Dubai, Brussels, and Chengdu.
But the French shipping airline will continue to operate the 10-year-old A330-200, which joined its fleet in 2023 and currently plies a route between Paris, Baku and Zhengzhou. It also has four 777Fs, two operated by Atlas Air, plus another on order, being test flown in the US, as well as one A350-1000F on order.
Two of the 777Fs are flying between Paris, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Baku, while the two operated by Atlas Air are serving Hanoi, Seoul, Los Angeles, Chicago, Shanghai, and Mexico City.
Those flights do not visit Europe, where EU countries face threatened 30% tariffs on their imports to the US from 1 August.
The Loadstar asked CMA its plans for Air Belgium, but it hadn’t responded before publication.
Meanwhile, reports that Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA) has already become part of ANA, a deal that has been in the making for some time, have been refuted by ANA.
However, a spokesperson for ANA told The Loadstar: “ANA Holdings obtained respective authority approval, and ANA HD will acquire the entire shares of Nippon Cargo Airlines on 1 August.
“Which means a merger hasn’t occurred yet.”
The spokesperson added: “NCA currently holds eight B747-8Fs in operation and seven B747-400s on lease.
“New information will be disclosed after 1 August.”
Outside Asia, NCA operates flights into London and Milan, as well as New York, Chicago, Dallas, and Los Angeles.
Media reports claim ANA is planning to increase NCA’s fleet size.
ANA Cargo operates six 767-300Fs and two 777Fs. The 777Fs are used for transpacific flights to Chicago and Los Angeles, while the 767s operate intra-Asian routes, primarily to Chinese destinations, but also Thailand and Korea.
According to ANA’s flight schedule, its freighters do not currently fly to Europe.
However, with Japan facing a 25% tariff for goods going into the US from 1 August, the country’s exporters may look for new markets.
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