October 21 - Ahead of the delivery of its third freighter, CAL Cargo Airlines has confirmed that it is considering new routes in North America to boost its network.
"We are looking at Halifax as a potential market, either year-round or seasonal," said CAL's chief executive officer, Eyal Zagagi. "About ten months ago we were looking at Chicago. It was not the right time to enter that market, but that may change."
International media reports suggest that a Boeing 747-400F will join the carrier on a long-term lease deal during early 2016. CAL's fleet currently consists of two 747-400Fs, one owned and the other leased.
Zagagi added that the new capacity would increase utilisation and boost the carrier's charter activities: "There is a big difference between the weekend and weekdays. We will increase the weekly rotations to Tel Aviv to seven from five, and increase utilisation significantly at the weekend. We will also enhance our charter activity - we have operated quite a few over the last few months."
At the start of October 2015, CAL started serving Atlanta once a week, routing from its hub in Liege via New York's JFK International. Zagagi said the service is going "very, very well" and hopes to double this frequency at some point in the immediate future, potentially adding a third rotation at some stage.
However, CAL has shelved plans to serve Shanghai, citing concerns over the Chinese market.
