CargoLogicAir waits for AOC to take off

NOV 26, 2015: It is described as the “great British cargo airline” and its name is CargoLogicAir (CLA). With its first Boeing 747-400 freighter, leased from Aircastle, rolled out of the paint shop earlier this month, CargoLogicAir, according to its just launched website, says it is “open for business”. Headquartered in London-Stansted Airport, UK’s only main-deck freighter airline is in the process of receiving the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). According to (CAA) CargoLogicAir has applied for a Type-A operating license, which covers passengers, cargo and mail, and is seeking permission to operate charter and scheduled flights.

According to the information available on its website, CLA is planning to use a lean business model and organisational structure to make it competitive. CLA will be operating scheduled Boeing 747 Freighter services as well as global air cargo charter flights for customers around the world. The freighter, with its 110-tonne payload, is said to be one of the most efficient and capable cargo aircraft.

CargoLogicAir is also actively seeking partnerships and interline agreements with other cargo operators, as it looks to build a network across Europe, North America and Asia Pacific.

The airline was established on June 23, 2015 by Volga-Dnepr as the sole shareholder to work in a partnership with its sister airline AirBridgeCargo (ABC). However, Volga-Dnepr Group has remained largely silent on the launch of CLA.

Volga-Dnepr Group is the world leader in the transportation of unique, oversize and heavy cargo market, and it has been successfully representing the Russian airfreight industry in the international market since 1990. Volga-Dnepr Airlines, AirBridgeCargo Airlines and Ruslan International are a part of the Volga-Dnepr Group. AirBridgeCargo Airlines entered the scheduled cargo market in 2004, followed by Ruslan International, a joint venture between Volga-Dnepr Airlines and Antonov Airlines launched in 2006.

ABC has significant problems with operating on some routes and with the launch of CargoLogicAir the plan is to make these operations possible. ABC has been been looking for an EU-based airline to open a partnership with and make flights to Africa and Latin America possible as the airline lacks these routes. It has been speculated that some of the 20 Boeing 747-8F on order for AirBridgeCargo will enter service with CargoLogicAir.