Skybus Airlines and Mercury Air Cargo have announced a strategic partnership in which Mercury will provide marketing, sales, accounting and operational oversight for all Skybus flights throughout the US using the Mercury World Cargo brand.
The program will take effect on May 22nd, when Skybus inaugurates flights from its Columbus, Ohio hub to the Los Angeles area through Burbank (California), the Boston area through Portsmouth (New Hampshire) and Kansas City.
On May 23rd, Skybus will launch service to Richmond (Virginia); on May 29th to Fort Lauderdale (Florida), Greensboro/Winston-Salem (North Carolina), and the Seattle/Vancouver area through Bellingham (Washington); and in June to the San Francisco Bay area through Oakland and a second daily flight to Burbank.
Cargo capacity will be made available on Skybus’ fleet of Airbus A319s.
“We have invested heavily in our Mercury World Cargo brand by establishing a worldwide network of owned and agent offices that provide shippers and forwarders more efficient and convenient cargo services,” said Paul Martins, Mercury Air Cargo’s chief operating officer. “In particular, we will be able to offer the US shipping community a convenient one-stop-shop for critical, time-sensitive cargo to, from and between many inland points throughout the country.”
Chase Cunningham, Skybus director of ancillary sales, said that outsourcing its cargo capacity fits well with Skybus’ model of operating from uncongested airports and outsourcing virtually all of its maintenance and ground handling, which helps keep costs - and therefore fares - down.
“We realise the important contribution that cargo will make to our continued success, and with Mercury we have a partner with a proven track record of managing and selling carriers’ cargo capacity, allowing Skybus to focus its attention on the passenger side of the business.”
He added that planned additional new aircraft and routes are expected to provide the catalyst for growth for all parties.
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