SkyTeam Cargo Welcomes CSA Czech Airlines as its newest Member

CSA Czech Airlines Cargo Complements SkyTeam’s Global Route Network with Central European Presence and Trans-Atlantic Service

PRAGUE, April 30, 2001 – SkyTeam Cargo, the global airline cargo alliance founded by AeroMexico, Air France, Delta Air Lines and Korean Air, today announced its newest member, CSA Czech Airlines, as an official member. CSA Cargo is a brand name under which CSA handles its cargo activities.

CSA, the flag carrier of the Czech Republic, brings an additional European stronghold to SkyTeam with its international hub in Prague, complementing Air France’s operations in Paris. SkyTeam’s Prague hub will provide a marked increase of destinations throughout Central and Eastern Europe and the Middle and Far East. Additionally, CSA Cargo also acts as a major cargo handling provider at Prague Ruzyne International Airport, having an 80 percent market share on the handling market. The carrier recently announced plans to build a new cargo terminal at its Prague hub. The shift to the new $18 million facility is scheduled to take place in the first quarter of 2003.

“The terminal is in the first phase designed to accommodate 60,000 tons of cargo yearly, roughly the double of the current volumes,” said CSA Cargo Director of Alliances Kamil Slavik, “We planned it with the alliance’s needs in mind, therefore, we put a lot of focus on express handling and on extending the trucking handling possibilities.”

CSA operates daily flights between European and North American destinations, enhancing SkyTeam’s ability to offer its customers the most flight options on the most frequently traveled routes in the world. CSA serves its 2.4 million annual passengers with 134 daily departures to 61 destinations in 40 countries. Its fleet of 30 Airbus, Boeing and ATR Aerospatiale Alenia aircraft has an average age of 6.12 years. The ambitious business plan of carrier management aims at doubling the fleet by 2010. CSA carried 16,000 tons of cargo and mail in 2000, which represents growth of 27 percent, compared with 1999.

About SkyTeam Cargo
SkyTeam Cargo is the first global airline cargo alliance created around the customer, partnering AeroMexico, Air France, CSA Czech Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Korean Air. Through one of the world’s most extensive hub networks, SkyTeam offers its 176.7 million annual customers a worldwide system of 7,091 daily flights covering all the major destinations, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere, where nearly 80 percent of the world’s traffic flies, while still providing a consistent standard of performance, quality and detailed attention to service.



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