New Singapore freighter identifies key niche markets

Global connections link Europe, the US and Asia KEVIN MAYHEW SOUTH AFRICA has been identified as a growth market for Singapore Airlines Cargo which has strengthened its presence with the addition of a twice-weekly dedicated freighter flight routed Brussels-Johannesburg-Singapore. According to GM for central and southern Africa, Meow Seng Lim, the airline views Johannesburg as an ideal hub for other southern African countries, providing a freighter service for the region to Europe, the US and Asia. And with the high quality of South African exports – particularly perishables – they do not fear the effects of a stronger rand. “I believe Johannesburg can build itself as a hub, but a major problem is that most of the aircraft that fly through Johannesburg are passenger aircraft. Our move to introduce the freighter is not sudden - we have always wanted to bring a freighter here. It’s a matter of getting the traffic rights, and over-flying rights that has taken time. Now we must develop the market,” he told FTW after the inaugural flight of the airline’s Boeing 747-400 Mega Ark Freighter from Brussels to Johannesburg recently. Referring to the strengthened rand and its impact, Lim said that even though exports were more expensive than they were 18 months ago, it did not influence their decision. “I always get people telling me about the impact of the rand. But there are many people who are shopping for South African flowers to Japan and lobsters to Beijing, China. There are plenty of things that are out there that South Africa can export as people do not always go for the lowest price, but seek quality,” he told FTW. Explaining the airline’s flight route from Brussels in Belgium, he said that this best suited the directional nature of its cargo operations enabling it to maximise its routes. The timing of the flights and its route provide major access to the American markets through a number of American entry points, he said. The new freighter will initially service existing demand for industrial parts from Europe for southern Africa and perishable demand from Asian countries, as well as automotive products. “We are still looking at other possibilities, but the main commodities now are good perishables from here. We will be developing other potential markets to increase the types of product that we will handle. With the freight capacity of our three passenger flights weekly from Singapore and return, we are now on the map as a key player with greater flexibility to service what we regard as a major developing cargo market,” Lim concluded.