China Southern Airlines Cargo has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Air France-KLM Royal Dutch Airlines-Martinair (Netherlands) concerning a strategic partnership agreement that could eventually lead to an integrated commercial and operational cargo joint venture in the Europe-China market. The two sides have an existing commercial partnership dating back to 2015.
In a statement issued following the document's signing last week, Marcel de Nooijer, executive vice president of AFKLMP Cargo said: "We continuously want to create more value to our customers, and in doing so we are very excited to deepen the cooperation with our strategic partner China Southern Cargo. This new phase is good news for our customers."
Under the terms of the MOU, the Chinese and European cargo carriers will expand their existing cooperation and build on their mutual experience to connect their cargo business in China, Europe and beyond markets.
It will also allow either side to tap into the other's strengths, possibly through capacity sharing and bellyhold space agreements. China Southern is particularly strong in the China and the Asia-Pacific region with AF-KLM's potent in the Europe, Africa, and trans-Atlantic markets.
As such, the deal will combine China Southern Cargo and AF-KLM's cargo networks (bellyhold and main-deck capacity) to offer high-frequency services via hubs at Guangzhou, Shanghai Pudong, Paris CDG, and Amsterdam Schiphol. It will also offer either party easy access to the other’s capacity and ground handling facilities at home base hubs, which may facilitate more efficient interline transfers. Lastly, the enhanced partnership is also expected to increase mail and express business opportunities between China, Europe, and the United States.
