Chinese cargo joint-venture takes off – one year late

Air China Cargo (ACC) has finally been officially launched, almost a year later than originally planned. The joint-venture between Air China and the Cathay Pacific group was announced over a year ago, with operations slated to begin in the summer of 2010, but gaining regulatory clearance from the various authorities in China took longer than anticipated. “We have [now] secured all the necessary approvals from relevant authorities,” a spokesperson for Cathay told IFW. Using Shanghai as its base – to capture business in the Yangtze River Delta region, which accounts for two-thirds of China’s air cargo traffic – Cathay and Air China have pledged to turn ACC into an internationally competitive air cargo specialist. By next year, ACC will be operating with a fleet of 12 B747-400 freighters on routes out of China. Cathay has committed to providing four, one already supplied and three more to be delivered later this year and early next. Air China’s eight aircraft are already available to the new carrier. ACC has launched its first service, operating Dalian-Shanghai-Frankfurt every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It said the service would enable shippers in the Dalian area to avoid having to move cargo to Beijing or Korea to access suitable wide-bodied capacity.