Chinese express giant SF Express is partnering with freighter operator One Air to launch regular freighter flights between China and the UK as it looks to speed up transport times.
Under a one-year charter agreement, One Air will operate four flights per week between SF Express’ central China hub of Ezhou and East Midlands Airport in the UK using Boeing 747-400BDSF aircraft.
“The new route is part of SF’s strategic planning in Europe and network expansion worldwide. It restructures Sino-UK cross-border transit times and will support increasing trade and logistics demand between China and the UK,” the two companies said in a press release.
The first flight took place on 2 November and marked SF Express’ first all-cargo services into the UK.
“The new Ezhou-East Midlands cargo route not only fills the gap of direct air transport capacity from Ezhou to the UK, but also significantly shortens the end-to-end cross-border logistics time between China and the UK to four days, providing an efficient and stable air channel for time-sensitive goods such as cross-border e-commerce, high-end manufacturing, and fresh cold chain products,” the two companies said.
Peter Huang, head of the international airfreight department, SF International Business Center, added: “The launch of the new route between Ezhou and East Midlands is a crucial step in SF’s global network deployment.
“Our in-depth partnership with Air One not only shortens the delivery time of cross-border logistics between China and the UK to four days, but also empowers industries such as cross-border e-commerce, high-end manufacturing, and fresh cold chain with an efficient and stable airfreight channel.
Air One added that the new route reinforces its strategic ambition to strengthen connectivity between the UK and Asia.