New competition in the skies ( 2003-12-15 08:01) (China Daily)
Air cargo transport firms in China face fierce competition with the creation
of new joint venture Air China Cargo Co.
The new company was unveiled over the weekend by Air China, Beijing Capital
International Airport and Hong Kong CITIC Pacific.
The new company has pooled 3.5 billion yuan (US$421 million), with Air China
holding a 51 per cent stake, CITIC Pacific 25 per cent and Capital Airport 24
per cent.
The three parties signed a co-operation agreement in March.
Supported by five all-cargo Boeing 747 freighters, eight Boeing 747-400
passenger-cargo planes and 115 passenger aircraft with plenty of cargo space,
Air China Cargo's service network covers most Chinese provincial capitals and
major cities, as well as 36 cities in another 27 countries and regions, said
Kong Dong, board chairman of the new company.
"The air cargo industry has been growing at a double-digit rate in the past
years, which is a result of China's entry into the World Trade Organization and
its development as a key manufacturing base for an increasing number of
multinational corporations,'' Kong said.
Air China Cargo's major competitors are China Southern Airline, which has two
Boeing 747-400F cargo planes, and China Cargo Airlines, which was formed by
Shanghai-based China Eastern and China Ocean Shipping Company in 1998.
The booming Chinese air market also attracted many overseas carriers -- more
than 60 overseas airlines have already entered China, Kong said.
Germany's Lufthansa Cargo, the world's largest international air freight
carrier, said in late November that it plans to increase capacity in
Asia-Pacific to take advantage of an export boom led by China.
Also in November, another overseas airline expressed confidence in the
Chinese mainland's air cargo sector.
Cathay Pacific Airways announced that it will apply to fly cargo planes to
Beijing, as part of an effort to tap into one of the world's fastest-growing
aviation markets.
The Chinese mainland's air freight market is relatively underdeveloped,
although Boeing predicts air cargo traffic should grow by 10.3 per cent annually
in the next 20 years.
The mainland's carriers operate only 20 freighters compared with Cathay's 11.
