Cargoitalia readies for third freighter

Cargoitalia readies for third freighter    All-cargo airline Cargoitalia will take delivery of its third MD-11 freighter in June, entering service in July.
   The plane, a new conversion leased from Boeing Capital, has a larger 90-ton payload than the airline's first two MD-11s. The new MD-11 will also have a forward cargo door.
   Cargoitalia is expected to operate the freighter through a charter flight program before entering scheduled service in September. The airline plans to deploy its latest addition on a twice-weekly service from its Milan hub to Shanghai Pudong. In October, the service will increase to three times weekly.
   'We are once again easing the new aircraft into our operations, so we can ensure that our staff, crew and service partners are totally familiar with it before we commence full scheduled service,' said Roberto Gilardoni, commercial director for Cargoitalia, in a statement.
   'There are significant differences in the loading procedures and equipment employed on this aircraft, and we do not want to allow any factor to interfere with the high standards of reliability we have set,' he added.
   Cargoitalia, which relaunched under new ownership in April 2009, plans further fleet expansion from 2012, and is currently evaluating various plane types to take it through its next development phase, the company said.