MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company SA, the world's largest shipping line, is taking to the skies with a new cargo airline to meet global demand for freight transport.

The shipping line said the four Boeing 777-200F aircraft of MSC Air Cargo will be operated by Atlas Air, a subsidiary of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc.

 Source: MSC Air Cargo

"MSC Air Cargo has been under development for several months and the new solution will be available from early 2023, following the delivery of the first of four MSC-branded Boeing 777-200F aircraft," MSC said.

Increase demand for air cargo transport

It added that it has started developing the air cargo solution in response to customer demand and as a complementary service to its container shipping solutions.

MSC has appointed Jannie Davel, formerly of Delta Cargo, Emirates SkyCargo and DHL to develop its air cargo business and to build the team that will implement it.

"We are delighted to announce the development of MSC Air Cargo and to welcome Jannie Davel to spearhead this exciting new offering for MSC clients," said Soren Toft, MSC chief executive.

"This is our first step into this market and we plan to continue exploring various avenues to develop air cargo in a way that complements our core business of container shipping," he added.

Separately, Atlas Air made an announcement saying that under the terms of the long-term ACMI (aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance) agreement, Atlas Air will operate all four of its new and incoming Boeing 777-200 freighters on a global basis for MSC, with the first delivery being taken in Q4 2022.

Atlas' order of these four aircraft was announced in January 2022.

Atlas Air noted that the 777-200Fs will provide dedicated airfreight capacity to meet customer demand and will serve as a complementary service to MSC's container shipping solutions. The 777-200F will also support the sustainability efforts of the company with a twin-engine design that delivers excellent fuel efficiency and noise reduction.

"We are pleased to welcome MSC as a new customer, and look forward to supporting MSC as it develops its airfreight business and further enhances its position as a global leader in transportation and logistics," said John Dietrich, president and chief executive officer, of Atlas Air Worldwide.

"This new agreement will allow MSC to capitalize on the state-of-the-art service solutions provided by our aircraft and crews, as well as the unparalleled air cargo expertise brought by our Atlas team," Dietrich added.