The CMA CGM Group has chosen ECS Group as its exclusive GSA to help support the expansion of its new air division, CMA CGM AIR CARGO, in the air cargo industry. CMA CGM AIR CARGO has operated its first full-freight flight on 13 March between Liège and Chicago. By combining their expertise, the two specialists’ aim is to connect Europe to international markets – starting with the United States.

With four Airbus A330-200F aircraft, the CMA CGM Group chose Liège (LGG), a dynamic intermodal freight hub, as the location for its European base, and will begin by operating flights to Chicago O’Hare (ORD) in the USA. This is the first stage of the roll-out of this business strategy, which is designed to offer clients broad global coverage. There are also plans to launch new destinations in the United States, which will be announced shortly.

As part of CMA CGM AIR CARGO’s worldwide roll-out, the CMA CGM Group is working with ECS Group via a global cargo capacity marketing partnership. The leading GSA is determined to champion this strategy and has already set up dedicated teams in Europe and the United States. Adrien Thominet, ECS Group CEO, said, “ECS Group is extremely honoured to support this strategic move by CMA CGM, a group that is already an expert in chartering and logistics. Our flexibility, our sales network and our business know-how all mean we can amplify the added value the airline is looking for.”

This means that the ECS sales teams are hard at work to market capacity on the Group’s new partner’s flights to all freight forwarders. And to do just that, they have all the Business Intelligence, revenue optimization and performance management tools at their disposal that have been developed in-house at ECS Group. “After all, while selling is important to us, the most important thing is to sell well,” added Adrien Thominet.

The CMA CGM Group and ECS Group are both determined to make CMA CGM AIR CARGO a major player in air cargo.