Emirates and Air Canada sign air cargo agreement after codeshare pact

Emirates SkyCargo will have access to more than 60 cities in Canada and 150 cities on five continents through Air Canada Cargo

Emirates SkyCargo and Air Canada Cargo signed an initial agreement to deliver more services to their air freight customers. Photo: Emirates

Emirates and Air Canada's cargo divisions signed an initial agreement to work on initiatives that will expand their capacity on a larger combined network, building on a codeshare deal between the airlines sealed last year.

Under the terms of the preliminary agreement, Emirates SkyCargo and Air Canada Cargo will expand freight interline options, offering their customers access to more capacity, the Dubai airline said in a statement on Friday.

They will also expand block space agreements, which are bought by freight forwarders for space on a flight, pending regulatory approvals.

"Co-operating with Air Canada Cargo will offer our clients added value through more rapid reach to new destinations in Canada via our Toronto and US gateways," said Nabil Sultan, Emirates' divisional senior vice president of cargo.

The cargo agreement comes after the two airlines announced a codeshare deal that started in November 2022, covering 46 destinations in North America, the Middle East, Africa, South-East Asia and India.

In 2021, Emirates ranked the second-biggest globally after Qatar Airways in terms of freight tonne kilometres, a measure of cargo demand, according to analysis by US plane manufacturer Boeing.

Emirates' air freight arm transports cargo to more than 140 destinations in a global network spanning six continents. The air cargo carrier operates a fleet of all-widebody Boeing 777, Airbus A380 aircraft and 11 dedicated B777-F freighters.

Under the agreement, SkyCargo will have access to more than 60 cities in Canada and more than 150 cities on five continents through Air Canada Cargo, thanks to a fleet of Boeing 767 freighters and the belly-hold capacity of Air Canada’s scheduled passenger flights.

Air Canada Cargo will have access to Emirates SkyCargo’s high-frequency distribution network through the belly-hold of Emirates scheduled passenger flights to more than 140 global destinations, as well as the additional capacity offered by 11 freighters currently in the Emirates fleet.

Both airlines will bring their experience in handling cargo such as oil and gas drilling equipment, car parts and pharmaceuticals on their fleet of freighters or passenger aircraft.

"This agreement enables both carriers to work more closely to optimise our respective freighter and belly capacity throughout each of our extensive and complementing global networks," sai Matthieu Casey, managing director of commercial at Air Canada Cargo.

"Customers will benefit from these additional synergies by having access to an even greater array of options, destinations and streamlined handling when shipping globally."