Two Canadian carriers, Cargojet and First Air, announced Tuesday that they signed a cooperation agreement.
Cargojet will assume the remaining lease obligation of First Air’s B767-200ER freighter, and will provide scheduled freighter service to First Air three days a week from Ottawa and Winnipeg to Iqaluit, Canada. Both parties will maintain their respective, existing end-user customer relationships.
Cargojet will be the primary and exclusive provider of freighter aircraft lift from the southern points in Canada to/from Iqaluit and First Air will be the primary provider of cargo lift within Nunavut and across the North.
“Cargojet is a perfect fit for First Air, a complementary network and an outstanding record of reliability and service. Both companies will benefit from synergies that will be mutually beneficial for both companies as well as for our cargo customers,” Brock Friesen, president and CEO of First Air, said.
The two airlines plan to widen their cooperation into other areas, such as joint cargo handling and aircraft maintenance.
“We are looking forward to working with First Air, allowing both organizations to benefit from reduced costs, enhanced revenues and to offer a seamless, flexible and reliable air cargo service to Canadian shippers across Canada,” Ajay K. Virmani, president and CEO of Cargojet, said.