Recent developments in the air cargo industry include a decision by DHL to add three B747-400 converted freighters in Asia. In a joint venture between DHL and Cathay Pacific the three aircraft will be operated by Air Hong Kong in three high-capacity routes six days a week: Hong Kong-Tokyo; Singapore-Hong Kong and Shanghai-Hong Kong. An additional intercontinental route between Hong Kong and Cincinnati was launched was launched May 31. The latest investment comes as DHL looks to exploit the rapidly growing parcel market across Asia. The company also revealed that it is building a North Asia hub at Shanghai Pudong International Airport, to be completed in early 2012.
In other airfreight industry action, Miami International Airport says cargo facilities will grow about 16 percent next year. The new cargo facilities include a 500,000-square-foot warehouse being built for Centurion Air Cargo, to be concluded by mid-2012, and another 300,000-square-foot mechanized cargo center planned for American Airlines. According to Centurion's web site, the total capacity of the facility amounts to 500,000 tons per year.
AirBridge, the Russian all cargo carrier, has launched its first flight between Moscow and Chicago with a stop in Amsterdam. The flights are operated with B747-400F aircraft. Robert Song,the airline's vice president for Asia and Pacific, stated the airline would start flights from China to the U.S. before the end of 2011. The airline operates a fleet of eight B747-400Fs, and three B747-200Fs and has ordered five additional B747-8s.
Due to the increasing demand for freight, Turkish Cargo is launching five new scheduled cargo flights in July, to Bombay, Budapest, Kabul, Lagos and Riyadh. The additional flights will expand Turkish Cargo's existing service to 23 destinations. The airline operates a fleet of four A310Fs and two A330-200Fs. Other new destinations are planned over the coming months, to Addis Ababa , Dhaka, Erbil, Jeddah, Munich, Stockholm, Vienna and Warsaw.
