Jannie Davel promoted to CEO of MSC Air Cargo

MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has promoted Jannie Davel to be the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MSC Air Cargo with immediate effect. Davel’s promotion comes as the cargo airline completes two years this month. When MSC planned the launch of a cargo airline in 2022 it appointed Davel with the responsibility of building a brand new cargo airline. He joined the Geneva-headquartered shipping giant as the senior vice president for air cargo.

In October 2022, MSC Air Cargo started with just five people and it was yet to take delivery of the first of the four B777 freighters that would eventually be operated by Atlas Air. Two years later in October 2024, MSC Air Cargo boasts of a team of 70 plus people and a robust network of four B777 freighters operated by Atlas Air and a fifth B777F operated under its own Air Operator's Certificate (AOC), based in Milan, Italy.

“As I look back on the last two years, I’m filled with immense gratitude for the milestones achieved, the lessons learned, and the opportunities that have shaped my journey — culminating in my recent promotion to CEO,” Davel announced in a LinkedIn post. “Leading a world-class team and helping build MSC Air Cargo has been an incredible experience, and I owe so much to the support and inspiration of my family, mentors, and colleagues,” he added in the same post.

In an exclusive interview to The STAT Trade Times, Davel said that building MSC Air Cargo from the ground-up has been a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity”.

“It’s similar to how people say there’s no “perfect” time for something big, like having children. The same goes for creating a business of this scale — there’s never an ideal time when all conditions are perfect. Instead, it’s about being prepared, structured, and committed to doing things properly, regardless of the external environment,” he said.

When asked to identify the biggest hits and misses in the last two years of building the cargo airline, Davel picked the delay in aircraft deliveries, which according to him, compressed their commercial schedule and forced them to recalibrate.

“Initially, our flight schedule didn’t go as planned, which led to the need to make some quick adjustments. This could easily be seen as a "miss," given the operational challenges that came with it. However, I also see it as a key turning point,” he elaborated.

In fact the delays forced them to take on additional capacity to address their immediate needs, and according to Davel, such a decision allowed them to optimise their schedule for 2024.

“What started as a setback ended up being a valuable opportunity to refine our strategy for the future. We were able to learn from those early challenges, recalibrate our operations, and set ourselves up for a more streamlined and efficient schedule going forward.”

So, in many ways, this was both a hit and a miss — while things didn’t go as planned initially, the steps we took to address those issues helped us build a stronger foundation for the years ahead.”

Davel acknowledges that the MSC Air Cargo growth has been “impressive” and going forward the focus will be on “fine-tuning rather than rapid expansion”.

Davel, who began his career in airfreight operations at Air Express International in South Africa in 1994, completes 30 years in the air cargo industry this month. Before joining MSC Air Cargo, he held positions in companies that include DHL Global Forwarding, Emirates SkyCargo and Delta Airlines.

The full interview with Jannie Davel will be published here very shortly. A version of it will also be published in the October issue of The STAT Trade Times.