SEPANG: Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) cargo unit, MAB Kargo Sdn Bhd has partnered with Azerbaijan’s cargo carrier Silk Way West Airlines to leverage on each other’s aircraft fleet and network in different regions worldwide.
The strategic partnership between the two air cargo players entails a Block Space Agreement (BSA) on a twice weekly route to and from Kuala Lumpur and Amsterdam via Baku Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Azerbaijan.
The weekly flights, using the Boeing 747-8 Freighter, which has the payload capacity of 150 tonnes, are scheduled to occur every Thursday and Sunday.
MAB Kargo chief executive officer (CEO) Ahmad Luqman Mohd Azmi said the partnership with Silk Way West will provide the airline with synergistic benefits by expanding its wings to new destinations such as Baku, Azerbaijan and Tehran, Iran, and serve other markets such as Frankfurt, Malpensa, Vienna, Istanbul and New York.
“This partnership will have a positive impact on Malaysia and Azerbaijan’s trade and tourism. It will create opportunities for businesses in both countries to create trading activities,” he said in a speech at the signing ceremony between MAB Kargo and Silk Way West today.
Under the partnership, MAB Kargo will continue to serve key Asian and Australian markets with its fleet of Airbus A330200F freighters.
Meanwhile, Silk Way West Airlines CEO Kamran Gasimov said Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan has become an idea geographic location for stops between Europe and Asia.
“Based on existing interlink and block-space agreements, this will allow both airlines (MAB Kargo and Silk Way West) to have access to each other’s capacity across their respective global networks,” he said.
The inaugural Silk Way West flight, bearing flight number 7L434 is expected to touch down at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) at 4.30pm today with 105 tonnes of cargo from Amsterdam.
MAB Kargo has received bookings for 95 tonnes of cargo for the returning flight from KLIA to Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.