Air Malta plc has appointed Network Airline Services, a global leader in the field, as its total cargo management service (TCM) provider.

The appointment follows an adjudicating process after the issuance of an international request for proposals for which a number of market leaders showed interest.

The TCM concept is viewed as an increasingly popular solution by a number of airlines and represents opportunities to generate additional cargo revenues from the maximisation of aircraft cargo hold capacities. This solution is expected to generate new business opportunities from various sources while the airline concentrates on its core business as a passenger airline.

Apart from a guaranteed income to Air Malta, this project will generate cost savings in terms of better synergy shared between Air Malta and NAS across important functions such as sales and marketing, pricing and revenue management, cargo reservations, revenue accounting, back-office administration, IT systems, cargo handling and interline contracts.

The TCM concept will enable Air Malta to re-group its cargo business, re-establish itself in the market place, and increase distribution channels while building a sound platform for possible future growth of its cargo business through freighter hub operations, multimodal transportation, e-commerce, door-to-door products and more.