CMA CGM, the largest shipping company in France, will acquire 4 A330 aircraft

The largest French and the fourth-largest in the world container transportation and shipping company CMA CGM will create its own air cargo division, as the company will purchase four Airbus A330F aircraft.

CMA CGM announced that it will acquire four Airbus A330F dedicated freighters, which entered service between 2014 and 2016. The aircraft, according to the French company, will be leased from a European air operator.

“To meet the growing demand from our customers for agile logistics solutions, we are creating a new division within the CMA CGM Group dedicated to air transport: CMA CGM Air Cargo,” commented Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the French company Rodolphe Saadé. According to him, the newly-established division will partner with airlines to provide global logistics coverage, something that will be “a major turning point in the development of our logistics offer.”

The French company will not be a pioneer, as at least one other shipping company has dabbed into the commercial air market. Taiwan-based Evergreen Group established EVA Air in 1989, which began flying two years later. Currently, the Taiwanese airline operates five Boeing 777F aircraft.