Cargoitalia starts Shanghai/Milan service

Cargoitalia starts Shanghai/Milan service    Cargoitalia said Tuesday it has started direct scheduled freighter services twice weekly to Shanghai Pudong Airport from its Milan hub, using its recently delivered third MD11 freighter.
   The all-cargo airline said the addition of Shanghai to its network opens the potential for U.S. transshipment traffic via Milan, using the airline's New York and Chicago services.
   Cargoitalia will increase frequency to Shanghai to three times weekly from October, bringing the weekly outbound flights to 13. The airline's network now includes New York, Chicago, Dubai, Sharjah, Hong Kong and Shanghai.
   In Shanghai, Cargoitalia is represented by general sales agent New Asia Capital Resources, with which it also works in Hong Kong.
   'Italy now has direct scheduled freighter capacity on this important route, and westbound traffic is as strong as we anticipated,' said Roberto Gilardoni, Cargoitalia commercial director. 'We also expect some imbalance in traffic flows initially, but as Italian industry continues to recover and the market becomes more familiar with our new service, this should even out demand eastbound.'
   Cargoitalia operates three MD11 freighters with up to 90,000 kilos capacity each, and said it is undertaking a review of its future aircraft requirements. Options include further leased MD11Fs, and/or brand new freighter aircraft, which could be either leased or purchased.