Martinair, a wholly owned KLM subsidiary, will take over all of the full-freighters operated by Air France and KLM over the next two years. The ITJ heard the news from union sources. The take-over encompasses 19 wide-body aircraft, especially B747-400ERFs and a brand-new B777F. Once the move is completed, Martinair, which was was founded by the Dutch national Martin Schröder in Amsterdam (NL) in 1958, will become the world’s largest provider of airfreight capacities. As soon as the fleet transfer is completed, AF Cargo and KLM Cargo will limit themselves to marketing belly capacities on their passenger aircraft. AF-KLM is taking this step for various reasons. The airlines’ freight divisions have been making losses and impacting the entire corporation in recent times. According to in-company information, the shortfall came to a record sum of minus EUR 363 million in H1/2009. A return to the profit zone is still not foreseeable, despite a range of cost-cutting measures. AF-KLM’s cargo arm has been further impacted by shrinking volumes because of the crisis, as well as by high staff costs compared to competitors from the Gulf states and some Far Eastern countries.

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