Shortly before Christmas, we were told by sources close to the case, that Milan-based Cargoitalia had ceased all operations due to mounting financial losses. The carrier has since then informed its Italian customers that the airline will be dissolved and liquidated. Ongoing market weakness and fierce competition led to the collapse; so reads a statement issued by the privately owned Italian airline.
The company also cites in its press statement that the decision to establish a ‘Cargolux Italia’ subsidiary with four weekly freighter flights via Malpensa-Hong Kong on B747-400F aircraft hurt Cargoitalia and hampered its business opportunities considerably.
Cargoitalia operated three MD-11 freighters and had signed firm orders for five A330-200Fs. It was only as of late that the heavily indebted carrier changed its strategy by reducing line-haul flights and offering customers ACMI solutions together with a new charter product called ‘Ondemand.’
Moreover, the airline partnered with Togo’s cargo carrier Africa West, operating flights between Liege and Lome and feeding European exports into Africa West’s regional network in the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon or Angola. In addition, Cargoitalia helped out Lufthansa Cargo by offering additional capacity on U.S.-bound flights out of Germany. This temporary deal expired prior to the Italian carrier’s financial crash, Lufthansa Cargo’s head of communication, Nils Haupt told FlyingTypers.
All these efforts, however, have obviously come too late to save the airline’s fate, as reality shows.
Alis Aerolinee Italiane purchased the carrier in December 2008, mainly to get the air operator certificate held by Cargoitalia. Flights were resumed in May 2009 with a single MD-11F. Shortly after, two passenger to freighter-converted aircraft from Alitalia’s stock increased the fleet. But sources claim that these planes were highly inefficient, thus deepening daily the already abysmal hole in Cargoitalia’s cash.
Source: Heiner Siegmund, FlyingTypers
Gravity always wins!