Roughly a year-and-a-half after announcing their Global Cargo Joint Business (CFG reported: https://cargoforwarder.eu/2025/06/09/iag-cargo-maskargo-and-qr-cargo-to-join-businesses/ and https://cargoforwarder.eu/2025/06/09/iag-cargo-maskargo-and-qr-cargo-to-join-businesses/) IAG Cargo, MASkargo and Qatar Airways Cargo have now successfully transported their first trilateral customer shipment. The route quite literally went ‘half-way across the world’, starting out in Kuala Lumpur (KUL) with touchdowns in Doha (DOH) and Dublin (DUB), before arriving at the final destination in Chicago O’Hare (ORD) – just four destinations out of an integrated global network that offers over 400, and therefore one of the world’s largest. The shipment moving on board of all three airlines, was 11 tons of copper foil – a key component in keeping things running, be they electronic devices or energy generators. The three airlines hailed this first shipment collaboration as a milestone and speak of the full launch of their Global Cargo Joint Business as happening later this year.
Other collaborations that have taken place in preparation of the joint business, are IAG Cargo becoming Qatar Airways Cargo’s ground handling agent in Dublin and Madrid, earlier this year, and MASkargo commencing handling operations at London Heathrow, in 2025. Further operational trials and integration activities are to come.
David Shepherd, Chief Executive Officer at IAG Cargo, spoke of a “significant milestone” achievement and explained: “Alongside our partners, we have been aligning our operations, systems and expertise to create a Joint Business that works seamlessly across our combined networks. As we progress towards full launch, our focus remains on delivering a coordinated proposition that provides tangible benefits for customers across the global air freight market.”
Mark Jason Thomas, Chief Executive Officer at MASkargo, emphasized the collective strength of the joint network, adding: “For MASkargo, seeing this first shipment move from Malaysia across our partners’ networks demonstrates the potential of this collaboration to strengthen the link between Asia’s production centres and global demand. As we progress towards launch, our shared focus is on translating that potential into wider market access, greater flexibility and enduring value for our customers.”
Mark Drusch, Chief Officer Cargo at Qatar Airways Cargo, underlined “the operational alignment, connectivity and customer-focused approach” of the joint business, explaining: “For our customers, this is about creating a simpler, more connected experience and demonstrates the strength of our collaboration. By combining our complementary networks and expertise, we are building a truly global cargo offering that delivers greater reach, more routing flexibility and enhanced efficiency.”
