MSC Air Cargo eyes German market entry
The air freight carrier MSC Air Cargo is seeking access to the German air freight market. “That is the plan,” Jannie Davel, the carrier’s CEO, told the DVZ. The airline has an office in Germany as well as staff in sales and operations. “What we lack is market access in terms of flight operations. We are holding open discussions, including with Lufthansa Cargo,” says Davel.
Davel outlined to the DVZ how he envisages such a collaboration: “The idea would be to bring volumes from southern Italy via the ITA hub to Frankfurt and, from there, carry freight on to Hong Kong.” However, Davel considers the prospects of success to be slim.
Lufthansa Cargo comments: “We are in regular contact with industry representatives, including MSC Air Cargo. We already serve the Italian market via the additional cargo capacity provided by ITA Airways and Lufthansa, supplemented by our road feeder services.”
So far, only air freight replacement services
MSC Air Cargo currently serves the German air freight market solely via air freight substitute services. At present, lorries connect 14 German airports to the MSC Air Cargo hub in Liège; there is a return service from Frankfurt am Main.
There is also a connection from Frankfurt to Maastricht. Furthermore, air freight is transported from the Italian home base at Milan-Malpensa to Frankfurt am Main, Munich, and Stuttgart.
Speaking to the DVZ, Davel also refuted claims that MSC Air Cargo was approaching companies in the shipper sector directly – a practice frowned upon in the air freight industry, which some freight forwarders have punished by severing business ties with carriers.
“There’s no truth in that,” said Davel. “I would never bypass a freight forwarder.” He comes from a freight forwarding background himself and knows the established practices. “My principle from the very beginning was: we are a carrier for freight forwarders, not for shippers.”
Nevertheless, in the early days, shippers approached MSC Air Cargo, including major German brand manufacturers who also worked with MSC in sea freight. Davel, however, referred the shippers back to their freight forwarders.
Davel told the DVZ that MSC Air Cargo is aiming for a fleet size of 12 to 14 cargo aircraft. Above this threshold, “infrastructure costs multiply […]; we don’t want that. We want to be a quality-oriented niche player, not a mass carrier”.
