CMA CGM Air Cargo

You may know container giants with the CMA CGM lettering from Hamburg or Rotterdam. Since 2021 the same name has also been on freighter aircraft. CMA CGM Air Cargo is one of Europe’s youngest cargo airlines – small, but with a history full of twists: a start in Liège under another operator, a short marriage with Air France-KLM, the takeover of Air Belgium and a role as launch operator of the new Airbus A350F. Here you learn how to place the airline and where to see it.

CMA CGM Air Cargo at a glance

CMA CGM Air Cargo is the air freight division of the French shipping company CMA CGM, one of the largest container shipping lines in the world. The airline is based in Tremblay-en-France right at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and has its base there as well. The idea behind it: a logistics group that moves goods by ship, truck and rail anyway also offers its customers its own cargo space in the air – especially when things have to move fast.

The division was founded in February 2021, in the middle of the pandemic, when air freight capacity was scarce and expensive. Because many passenger flights lacked the hold space under the cabin floor, shipping lines and freight forwarders increasingly relied on freighters of their own. CMA CGM started with four used Airbus A330-200Fs and sent the first flight from Liège to Chicago in March 2021.

There is no alliance. Like most pure cargo airlines, CMA CGM Air Cargo sells its capacity through freight forwarders and the group’s own logistics, not through a partner network like SkyTeam.

Codes and callsign

• IATA code 2C: appears in the flight number, for example in air waybills and freight forwarders’ schedules.
• ICAO code CMA: shows up in the air traffic control flight plan and on flight trackers – the most important code for spotters.
• Callsign FRENCH CARGO: this is how the crew identifies itself on the radio.

The ICAO code is easy to remember because it simply takes the first three letters of the group. You need to be careful with the aircraft that Atlas Air operates for CMA CGM: they carry US registrations and fly under their operator’s conditions. Depending on the flight, a code other than CMA can therefore appear on the tracker. How to read tracker data cleanly is explained in the guide to flight tracking for spotters.

The history: from Liège to Paris

The airline’s short history explains why you may have seen CMA CGM freighters in such different places.

Date	Event
February 2021	Founding of the air freight division, start with four A330-200Fs
March 2021	First flight with an A330-200F from Liège to Chicago, operated by Air Belgium
End of 2021	Order for two Boeing 777Fs and four Airbus A350Fs
June 2022	The first two Boeing 777Fs are delivered
2022–2024	Strategic partnership with Air France-KLM, implemented from April 2023, ended in January 2024
April 2024	A350F order increased to eight aircraft
August 2024	New connections between the US and Asia with Atlas Air as operator
April 2025	Takeover of Air Belgium’s cargo business
May 2026	Cargo flights from Paris to Hanoi

The early period thus ran via Belgium: from 2021 to 2023, Air Belgium flew the four A330-200Fs on behalf of CMA CGM out of Liège Airport. Only when CMA CGM had its own French air operator certificate did the aircraft switch to French registrations and the base to Paris. If you stood at the Liège spotting spot back then, you caught the A330F in its early phase.

The goal of the partnership with Air France-KLM was to pool the cargo capacities of both groups, including the freighters of Air France and Martinair. It did not last long: in January 2024 both sides ended the cooperation by mutual agreement. CMA CGM’s equity stake in Air France-KLM remained. Shortly afterward CMA CGM doubled the A350F order – a clear sign that the shipping company prefers to expand its air freight itself.

The fleet: 777F as the backbone

The fleet is manageable, and that is exactly what makes it appealing to collectors: with a few sightings you have a large part of it together. According to trade press based on fleet data, it looked like this in early 2026:

Type	Number	Role	Spotter note
Boeing 777F	5	Long-haul to Asia and North America	Partly French (F-HMR…), partly US-registered and operated by Atlas Air
Airbus A330-200F	1	Medium long-haul, for example to China	Last aircraft from the initial fleet
Airbus A350F	8 on order	Successor and growth	Entry into service expected from the second half of 2027

The Boeing 777F is the airline’s workhorse. The route network includes destinations in China such as Hong Kong and Shanghai, and since May 2026 a 777F also flies from Paris to Hanoi. On the return from Vietnam it makes a stopover in Navoi in Uzbekistan. The manufacturer is Boeing.

The Airbus A330-200F is the last representative of the founding fleet. The other A330Fs were retired by mid-2024. Don’t confuse it with converted passenger jets: the A330-P2F are converted used passenger aircraft, whereas the A330-200F was built as a freighter from the factory.

The A350F: CMA CGM as launch operator

Things get exciting with the Airbus A350F. Airbus is developing its first freighter version of the A350 as a competitor to the 777F and the upcoming Boeing 777-8F. CMA CGM was among the first customers: in November 2021 the shipping company signed a letter of intent for four aircraft and firmed it up the following month. In April 2024 four more were added.

Originally a lessor was planned as the launch customer. After Air Lease canceled its order, CMA CGM announced in August 2025 that CMA CGM Air Cargo would be the first operator of the A350F. Airbus now gives the second half of 2027 for entry into service. Until then schedules can still shift – keep an eye on the news.

For spotters this means: the first A350F in scheduled service will very likely be flying in CMA CGM colors. You recognize the type by the A350’s typical cockpit mask and the curved wingtips you know from the passenger versions such as the A350-900 – only without a row of windows and with a large cargo door on the main deck behind the wing. How to tell the A350 and 787 apart is shown in the guide A350 or Boeing 787?.

Air Belgium and the Boeing 747-8F

In March 2025, CMA CGM made an offer for Air Belgium’s cargo business, the commercial court in Walloon Brabant approved it on March 27, and the takeover was completed at the end of April. Included were two Airbus A330-243Fs and two Boeing 747-8Fs. Air Belgium remains as a separate brand within the air freight division and continues to fly out of Belgium.

For the group family this is a leap: with the 747-8F, the group’s largest freighter joins the portfolio, which you recognize by its nose door and short upper deck. The differences from the passenger version 747-8 are explained in the guide Recognizing Boeing 747 variants. According to reports from summer 2025, Air Belgium wanted to give up its A330Fs and concentrate on the 747-8F, including on flights out of Brussels. The details of the Air Belgium fleet change quickly – check current fleet data before a trip.

Chicago and the Atlas Air aircraft

Besides Paris, CMA CGM has a second hub at Chicago O’Hare. Since August 2024 the airline has connected the US with Asia, among other things via Anchorage, with destinations in South Korea and China. These flights are operated by Atlas Air with 777Fs that carry US registrations.

For spotters in Alaska this is a nice addition: at Point Woronzof, freighters from all over the world pass by, and a 777F with CMA CGM lettering is a rare change of pace among the big names.

Since 2026 the group has been expanding its air freight business further. In July 2026 CMA CGM announced the acquisition of FedEx Supply Chain, combined with a cooperation on selected air freight capacity; according to trade press, the purchase has since been completed. What that means concretely for fleet and routes is still open.

Spotting CMA CGM Air Cargo

The best address is Paris Charles de Gaulle. The French-registered 777Fs and the A330-200F are at home there, and the flights to Asia depart from there. As with all freighters, plan on many movements being in the early morning hours, in the evening or at night. The guide Plane spotting at Paris CDG presents good locations around the airport.

In Germany, CMA CGM Air Cargo is not a regular guest. If you want to see freighters on your doorstep, Lufthansa Cargo, AeroLogic or Cargolux are the more reliable candidates. All the greater is the joy when a CMA 777F does stray onto a diversion or charter flight.

How to recognize CMA CGM Air Cargo

The most important feature is the large “CMA CGM” titles on the fuselage – the same brand that is on container ships and containers. Because they are all pure freighters, the passenger windows are missing; only the cockpit has windows. On the 777F you recognize the large cargo door on the left side of the fuselage behind the wing.

On the A330-200F, a look under the nose is worthwhile: the nose gear fairing has a striking bulge. It compensates for the tilt of the fuselage on the ground so that the cargo deck sits level. More on telling A330 variants apart is shown in the guide A330 or A340?.

From the registration you read off the operator: F-HMR… stands for the French aircraft of CMA CGM Air Cargo, an N registration for the Atlas Air freighters. How registrations are built is explained in the guide Understanding aircraft registrations.

Common mix-ups

• Taking every CMA CGM aircraft for French – the 777Fs operated by Atlas Air carry US registrations.
• Equating Air Belgium with CMA CGM Air Cargo – both belong to the same group but are separate brands.
• Taking the A330-200F for a conversion – it was built as a freighter from the factory, P2F conversions are something else.
• Confusing the 777F with the 777-300ER – the freighter has no windows and is shorter; the differences from the 787 are shown in Telling the Boeing 777 and 787 apart.
• Taking CMA CGM Air Cargo for part of Air France – the partnership ended in January 2024.

Conclusion

CMA CGM Air Cargo shows how a shipping company takes to the air: first with used A330Fs via a partner in Liège, then with its own 777Fs out of Paris and a second hub in Chicago. The fleet is small and therefore easy to collect. With the A350F from 2027, the airline becomes the first address for the new Airbus freighter – a good reason to have CMA saved on your tracker.