The air logistics division of Qantas will operate a non-stop freighter service from Australia to Shanghai, China, with its own metal for the first time, starting on Thursday.
Qantas Freight said it will deploy an Airbus A330-200 converted freighter twice per week between Sydney and Shanghai to meet shipping demand for direct service. Previous service between the cities has utilized two Boeing 747-400 cargo jets under an operating lease with U.S.-based Atlas Air. Non-China loads will be transferred to Atlas Air in Shanghai for onward service to Chicago.
Qantas Freight has 10 aircraft in its fleet – six Airbus A321 (narrowbody) converted freighters, two A330-200s and the two 747s flown by Atlas Air. Five of the planes are used for international service.
The airline in late May also added a second weekly Asia-U.S. service via Bangkok (Sydney-Bangkok-Shanghai-New York JFK via Anchorage with return stops in Los Angeles, Honolulu) and (Sydney-Bangkok-Shanghai-Anchorage-Dallas-JFK-Chicago-Honolulu-Melbourne-Sydney) flown by Atlas Air. Stopping in Bangkok adds extra capacity for shippers out of Thailand.
“Global freight demand to and from Asia continues to grow and we’re launching this additional capacity to support our customers’ fast-moving critical cargo and e-commerce shipments from Bangkok and Shanghai,” said Igor Kwiatkowski, executive manager, Qantas Freight, in a press release.
“The new Shanghai services will mean Qantas Freight will offer more direct freighter services between Australia and China than ever before, making it easier and more flexible for customers to book capacity to and from China’s busiest cargo port, along with more tranship options to key US destinations,” he added. The Shanghai schedule is timed to allow exporters across the country to get their goods to Sydney and connect with the Shanghai flight.
Qantas Freight A330s currently operate between Melbourne, Sydney and Perth in Australia and Hong Kong, according to the company’s posted schedule..
Qantas’ cargo division said it has recently upgraded online booking capabilities on its website to allow faster booking confirmations, specialized shipments, improved tracking and real-time truck booking options for UK and U.S.-origin shipments. In addition to enhancing its own booking engine, Qantas Freight is expanding its presence on neutral air cargo marketplaces. Customers can now access Qantas and Jetstar capacity to Australia from the U.S., U.K. and South Africa on CargoAi’s neutral platform. Last year, Qantas joined cargo.one and WebCargo by Freightos.
Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.
RELATED READING:
Australian freight sector welcomes approval of third runway in Melbourne
The post Qantas Freight adds freighter connections to Shanghai, Bangkok appeared first on FreightWaves.
