Bahrain Air and KLM in cargo exchange deal

Bahrain Air has signed a bilateral interline agreement with Dutch carrier KLM to streamline cargo movement by both airlines.

The carriers will exchange cargo shipments between Europe, the GCC and the rest of the Middle East.

"This will lead to faster movements of cargo," said Mohammed Saleh Fakhri, Bahrain Air's director commercial operations.

"Bahrain Air is the first premium low-price airline in Bahrain to sign such an agreement with one of the leading global airlines."

The carrier's freight division, Bahrain Airways Cargo, uses passenger flights to transport additional freight and offers cargo services to Doha, Dubai, Amman, Damascus, Beirut and Alexandria.

During the course of this year it will inaugurate services to Aleppo, Kuwait, Dhaka and Kathmandu.

Bahrain Air has a fleet of A320 aircraft and recently announced plans to launch a $270 million (Dh992m) fund to finance the acquisition of six new jets.

"We are planning to go international with commercial cargo and create alliances with other cargo operators worldwide," added Fakhri. "We have plans to develop the Bahrain Air Cargo network both through our own aircraft and other airlines as interline traffic to reach intercontinental destinations."

Meanwhile, KLM is planning to make similar alliances with a number of Middle East carriers, said Cargo Sales Assistant Manager Gohar Maqsood.

KLM Cargo became the fourth major cargo airline – after Lufthansa Cargo, Air France and Martinair – to choose the Traxon CDMP system to monitor its shipping processes worldwide.

The web-based application is based on Iata's Cargo 2000 quality initiative specification and allows KLM Cargo to measure its performance and generate monthly reports.

Air France Cargo-KLM Cargo has reported that the freight business returned to profit in the first quarter of this year after making a loss a year earlier. The Franco-Dutch carrier's cargo fleet booked an operating profit of $26.5m in the three months to June 30 compared to a loss of $26.5m in the same period in 2007.