PACT BUILDS SOLID
Local cargo firm says synergies attained via collaboration service beneficial for its international operations
KUALA LUMPUR
AIR-CARGO carrier MAB Kargo Sdn Bhd says the synergies attained from a service collaboration with Azerbaijan’s Silk Way West Airlines since March last year are beneficial for its international operations.
“We have good connectivity from Baku Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Azerbaijan to Chicago with cargo flights operating on a B74-800 freighter once a week and another one flying into JFK International Airport in New York via Baku,” said chief executive Ahmad Luqman Mohd Azmi.
He said the strategic partnership between the two air cargo players entailed a block space agreement (BSA) on a twice weekly route to and from Kuala Lumpur and Amsterdam via the Baku Heydar Aliyev International Airport.
MAB Kargo has a fleet of three A330-200 freighters while Silk Way West operates three B747-800 and four B747400 aircraft.
Luqman said this solid network, built by both partners, would continue to serve key Asian and Australian markets with the Airbus A330-200 freighters fleet.
The partnership with Silk Way West would allow MAB Kargo to expand to new destinations such as Baku and Tehran (Iran), and serve familiar markets such as Frankfurt, Malpensa, Vienna, Istanbul and New York, he said.
MAB Kargo carried some 204,118 tonnes of cargo last year, down from 293,075 tonnes in 2015.
He added that the 30 per cent decline resulted mainly from the rationalisation for passenger and freighter network.
Commenting on the Brexit issue, Luqman said it would not affect MAB Kargo “because we serve the United Kingdom market directly and not through the European Union.”