Dragonair added Xiamen to its freighter network on May 16, with the city becoming the second all-cargo destination in mainland China served by the airline.
"We're very pleased to have added the booming Xiamen market to our freighter network," said Dragonair CEO Stanley Hui. "We expect it to boost what is already a very successful freight operation."
Dragonair also operates 11 passenger services to Xiamen each week, and is well aware of the opportunities the city offers.
"Xiamen is home to production facilities for a number of well-known multi-national corporations, such as Dell Computers and Kodak, and many Taiwanese corporations. And we can provide competitive shipment services to a number of key destination markets for them through our Hong Kong hub," Mr. Hui said.
The Dragonair freighter operates to Xiamen once a week, on the return flight from Shanghai to Hong Kong. It connects with freighter and passenger services in the airline's network through its home base in Hong Kong.
Dragonair currently has two purchased Boeing 747-300s in its cargo fleet. They operate to Europe and the Middle East four times a week, and to Shanghai and Osaka twice weekly.
The airline signed a deal with Boeing in February for a third 747-300, which is due to enter service at the end of this year.
Last year Dragonair's cargo operation posted a 30% jump in volume compared with 2000, with the airline carrying more than 121,214 tonnes of freight for the 12 months, despite the tough economic environment.
Dragonair is a Hong Kong-based airline, operating a fleet of seven A330-300s, four A321s and eight A320s, in addition to two Boeing 747-300 freighters. The airline's passenger network covers 27 destinations across the Asia-Pacific region, while its cargo network connects the markets of Europe, the Middle East, Japan and China. |
