France’s CMA CGM formally axes Groupe Dubreuil equity plans

French global shipping specialist CMA CGM has formally abandoned plans to acquire a 30% stake in Groupe Dubreuil following the unveiling of its new in-house air cargo division, CMA CGM Air Cargo (Paris Orly), last week. The two sides had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in September last year under which CMA CGM would have made use of bellyhold capacity on Groupe Dubreuil’s French Bee and Air Caraibes subsidiaries. Sources have since told Le Figaro newspaper that despite this set back, Air Caraibes still intends to invest in the air cargo business amid depressed passenger demand. For its part, CMA CGM Air Cargo will use Air Belgium (KF, Brussels Charleroi) to operate the four A330-200(F)s it has acquired from Qatar Airways (QR, Doha Hamad Int’l). The first of a pair of the freighters that will be inducted into service by March – A7-AFI (msn 1688) – was added to the Belgian register as OO-CMA last week. “In response to the growing demand from our customers for agile logistics solutions, we are creating a new division within the CMA CGM Group dedicated to air transport: CMA CGM Air Cargo. This division will launch with four Airbus A330-200F aircraft and will leverage commercial partnerships with airlines in order to deliver global coverage. This is a major milestone in the development of our logistics services,” Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and CEO of the CMA CGM Group, said in a statement. As previously reported, CMA CGM Air Cargo’s operations will focus on the Belgian freight hub of Liège.