CMA CGM Air Cargo, the airline subsidiary of the French ocean shipping and logistics conglomerate, has expanded its fleet to nine aircraft by officially taking control of Air Belgium and taking delivery of another 777 freighter from Boeing.

A Belgian court late last month approved the distressed sale of Air Belgium to CMA CGM Group. The company announced Wednesday that it has completed the transfer of Air Belgium’s assets from a liquidator and will continue to operate Air Belgium as a separate brand from Brussels and Liège airports.

Air Belgium brings two Airbus A330-200 medium-widebody freighters and two Boeing 747-8 freighters to the CMA CGM portfolio. CMA CGM said it has retained 124 Air Belgium employees, including 72 pilots. The acquisition enables CMA CGM to offer more air logistics choices to European cargo owners and freight forwarders. 

Hongyuan Group in China acquired 49% of Air Belgium in 2022. Air Belgium has been operating its fleet for the logistics provider. 

Air Belgium complements CMA CGM Air Cargo’s operations at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport. The airline operates regular service with two Boeing 777 cargo jets to Hong Kong and Shanghai and one A330 aircraft to Zhengzhou, China. CMA CGM Air Cargo also controls two factory-built Boeing 777 freighter aircraft that are operated by New York-based Atlas Air on trans-Pacific routes.

Air Belgium was instrumental in establishing CMA CGM Air Cargo in 2021. CMA CGM acquired four A330 cargo jets and hired Air Belgium to fly them until early 2023, when it obtained its own French air operator certificate and moved operations to Paris. 

Meanwhile, CMA CGM said it has established an air hub at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, a move that was telegraphed in March without a timetable. The reality is less significant than CMA CGM suggests because the company does not appear to have undertaken any capital investment in a new facility to be or leasing ramp space for aircraft from an existing cargo handler at the airport. 

The Chicago Department of Aviation was not able to confirm any enhanced CMA CGM freighter schedule or footprint at this time.

Atlas Air uses O’Hare as a base for pilots to pick up assigned flights. 

CMA CGM Air Cargo last fall placed a new Boeing 777 with Atlas to operate on its behalf across the Pacific Ocean. A CMA CGM spokesperson said in an email message the plane now connects Shanghai and Chicago four times per week, but the Flightradar24 aircraft tracking site shows the plane predominantly operates between Hong Kong, Seoul, South Korea, and Chicago, with occasional stops in other Chinese cities and in Miami. 

The airline now says Atlas Air is operating a second branded 777 freighter out of Chicago. Aviation databases show Atlas Air accepted the new freighter in late March and is operating it between Seoul, Hong Kong and Chicago three times per week.  

CMA CGM expects to receive three more 777s from Boeing this year, with flying outsourced again to Atlas Air from its Chicago base.

Atlas Air also flies five Boeing 777 cargo jets for Mediterranean Shipping Co., another European ocean carrier with a startup cargo airline (MSC Air Cargo).

Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.

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