Air Madagascar looks at supplementing cargo offering

As it celebrates its 15th birthday as a cargo general sales and service agent (GSA) in SA, Airline Cargo Resources (ACR) counts Air Austral, Air Madagascar, Air Jamaica, Starlight Airlines and Ethiopian Airlines as the air cargo carriers it represents – and which offer it a web of air routes to service, according to GM Stuart Tonkin. The combined might of the carriers Air Austral and Air Madagascar service the islands off the east coast of Africa – with both airlines offering competitive rates and reliable services on their networks. “Air Madagascar is also looking at sending its Boeing B767 aircraft to Johannesburg for selected flights to assist with cargo demand from the island capital of Antananarivo to the City of Gold,” Tonkin told FTW. “This will offer additional capacity out of Jo’burg for the return loads.” The company has a different relationship with Air Jamaica and Starlight Airlines, which are both represented by ACR as offline carriers. “Starlight is the newest addition to our airline stable,” said Tonkin. “It services the Iraq and Afghanistan conflict regions, and is able to carry loads into both civilian and military bases.” The ACR service is supported by the Ethiopian Airlines freighter network from Johannesburg to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates via Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. “This uses a McDonnell Douglas MD-11F freighter out of Johannesburg and connects to Dubai with either the Boeing B75F or MD-11F from Addis and then on to the Starlight Airlines network.” At the same time, Tonkin pointed out that Ethiopian Airlines had been operating Jo’burg-Addis once a week with the MD-11F, but increased the frequency to two flights a week starting at the end of October. “They are now operating on Thursday and Sunday from Jo’burg to Addis, and – should the load warrant it – they will offer direct services to Lagos in Nigeria and Kampala (Entebbe) in Uganda.” Tonkin said he felt this business into Africa seemed to be taking an upturn, after some months of very restrained activity as the global economic crisis showed its bite. “The cargo loads have been growing substantially on the Ethiopian flights,” he added. “And the African market, in general terms, has also been seeing a steady increase.”