Rapidly growing China Southern Airlines and ailing Air France-KLM-Martinair Cargo, have signed a partnership agreement to create a more extensive global cargo network.
Air France KLM will serve the main cities in Australia and supply main-deck capacity to Hanoi/Ho Chi Minh from China Southern’s hub in Guangzhou. AF-KLM’s hubs at Paris Charles De Gaulle and Amsterdam-Schiphol will give China Southern access to the North and South Atlantic markets, including Atlanta, Miami, São Paulo and Buenos Aires, as well as capacity to Africa, with both hubs serving Lagos.
“This new partnership will give customers access to an extensive cargo network in the Asia-Pacific region — where China Southern Cargo occupies a strategic position — and in Europe, Africa and the trans-Atlantic regions, where Air France-KLM-Martinair Cargo is one of the largest operators,” the carriers said in a joint statement.
The two carriers added the agreement covers a combination of wide-body and main-deck capacity on the Europe-China leg and access to a network of “unique” destinations from their respective hubs. They also said they will also intensify their co-operation on express and mail premium products in response to the substantial increase in e-commerce trade between Asia and Europe.