CargoLogicAir took delivery of its first Boeing 747-8 Freighter at the Farnborough International Airshow this week.
The UK cargo carrier’s chief executive officer, Dmitry Grishin received the ‘keys’ to the aircraft from Marty Bentrott, vice president for sales in the Middle East, Russia and Central Asia for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, in a ceremony onboard the aircraft.
This arrival will help CargoLogicAir develop its network into North America and South America later this year. It has earmarked the West coast of the US, in Seattle and Los Angeles, while Quito in Ecuador and Mexico are on the radar further south.
London Stansted Airport-based CargoLogicAir received its UK Air Operator Certificate at the start of 2016 and in February commenced twice-weekly Boeing 747-400 ACMI services connecting the UK, Europe and Africa as well as air charter services.
The airline’s growth strategy is based on operating a fleet of five Boeing 747 freighters within its first five years of operations.
Grishin says: “Taking delivery of our first Boeing 747-8 Freighter is another important milestone for CargoLogicAir and a clear sign of the high quality of service we are committed to providing our customers in the UK and worldwide.
“The 747-8F is a remarkable aircraft capable of carrying virtually any cargo from temperature-sensitive fresh produce and pharmaceuticals to long aerospace and oil&gas cargoes through its nose door.
“It is a highly efficient aircraft and offers us a 16 per cent increase in payload over our 747-400, increasing our capacity on a single flight to 137 tonnes.”
Grishin sees opportunity to expand its network as other European carriers like AFKLMP, Lufthansa Cargo and British Airways have either downsized or abandoned their freighter fleets, while their is no direct competition in the UK.
He says he has no idea at this stage what impact the UK leaving the European Union (Brexit) will have on CargoLogicAir, but says there will “probably be no change”.
But he says the carrier is also looking into potentially setting up a base in the Netherlands (Amsterdam Schiphol) or in Germany (Liepzig) in the future, as a contingency plan in case business suffers.
Grishin would also like to see Heathrow Airport get the go ahead for a third runway as cargo is a vital part of the business for the hub and says the carrier would be “knocking on the door”.
