SF Airlines secures DOT approval for US-China operations

On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Transportation approved an exemption request from Shenzhen-based SF Airlines to operate cargo service between the U.S. and China. SF initially requested the exemption on May 13, as reported by our sister publication, Cargo Facts. The carrier was seeking to operate a thrice-weekly scheduled service between Hangzhou (HGH) and New […]

• Caryn Livingston
• December 6, 2019

Global Airline Services is GSA for SF’s 747F service from Europe

Global Airline Services is the general sales agent (GSA) for SF Airlines’ new 747-400F service from London (LHR) to Wuxi (WUX) via Frankfurt Hahn Airport (HHN), according to a notice from OAG Inforwarding. Global Airline Services, the United Kingdom branch of Amsterdam-based Global GSA Group, could not be immediately reached for comment. According to the […]

• Caryn Livingston
• September 20, 2019

SF Express begins 747 service to Europe

Shenzhen-based SF Airlines operated its first flight to Europe in the last decade on Sept. 15 with service from Wuxi (WUX) to Frankfurt-Hahn Airport (HHN) and an intermediary stop in Chongqing (CKG). The China-Europe service was operated for SF Express using one of the carrier’s two 747-400 freighters. As reported by our sister publication Cargo […]

• Caryn Livingston
• September 16, 2019

Cargolux adds frequency with direct US-Xiamen connection 

Today, Cargolux announced the addition of a third weekly frequency to Xiamen (XMN) it made at the beginning of this month.  The route departs from Luxembourg (LUX) on Monday mornings, and arrives in XMN the following morning. On its return, the flight stops in Los Angeles (LAX) on its way to LUX. According to Cargolux, the additional frequency makes its service the only direct freighter connection between the Xiamen and the […]

• Brianne Ledda
• July 8, 2019

SF Airlines launches route connecting China, Kazakhstan

Yesterday, SF Airlines launched a new cargo route connecting Urumqi (URC) in China’s western Xinjiang province to Almaty (ALA) in Kazakhstan. The route is the airline’s first dedicated freighter flight directly connecting China to Kazakhstan and supports China’s development of its “Belt and Road” initiative.  SF Airlines will fly the new route twice weekly using […]

• Chelsea Toczauer
• July 5, 2019

SF Airlines applied to launch trans-Pacific 747 ops

In a filing to the US Department of Transportation dated 13 May, Shenzhen-based SF Airlines requested permission to operate scheduled cargo service three times per week between Hangzhou (HGH) and New York (JFK), for at least one year. The service would begin in September 2019, using SF’s 747 freighter capacity.  SF Airlines took delivery of its […]

• Caryn Livingston
• May 15, 2019

Speakers from Flexport, MAB Kargo, SF Express to take part in Cargo Facts Asia

The lineup of air cargo industry visionaries speaking at the Cargo Facts Asia 2019 conference in Shanghai has recently expanded to include George Li, group vice president of SF Express and president of SF Airlines; Neel Jones Shah, senior vice president and global head of airfreight at full-service air and ocean forwarder Flexport; and Ibrahim Mohamed Salleh, […]

• Randy Woods
• February 26, 2019

Freighter race heats up during holiday cool-down

Today, as Air Cargo World pauses to celebrate the season with families and other loved ones, and supply-chain stakeholders breathe sighs of relief after the last of the Christmas packages complete their final-mile deliveries, it appears that the freighter market is just getting warmed up. As reported yesterday in our sister publication, Cargo Facts, China-based […]

• Randy Woods
• December 25, 2018

SF Express launches first scheduled Nanjing-Osaka freighter service

Chinese express freight company SF Express launched scheduled flights between China and Japan with its subsidiary, SF Airlines, operating a 737-300 freighter. The launch also marks the carrier’s first international route to have a scheduled daily chartered flight. The flights, between the cities of Nanjing and Osaka, will run on every weekday from Monday to […]

• Lewis King
• December 27, 2017

Can modest Shenyang Airport live up to its lofty ambitions?

Hong Kong’s premier air cargo handler sees promising potential in northeastern China, not far from the border with North Korea. In September, Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Ltd. (Hactl) subsidiary Hactl Development Holdings signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with Liaoning Airport Management Group, owner of Shenyang Taoxian International Airport, in what both parties described […]

• Ian Putzger
• December 7, 2016

SF Airlines receives first of five 767s

The 767 may be a 35-year-old design, but its popularity among express firms continues to soar this month – first there was the news of Amazon’s desire to buy 20-plus 767 freighters for what is rumored to be its own air network, then there was news that SF Airlines, the air arm of China’s SF […]

• Randy Woods
• December 22, 2015

News Briefs: Astana-Bangkok route, Panalpina aid, AEI converts 400th

Air Astana, the flag carrier of Kazakhstan, launched nonstop widebody service from the nation’s capital of Astana to Bangkok, capital of Thailand. Operating twice a week, using one of the carrier’s thirty 767-300ERs, the route is part of a recent expansion of international trade between Astana and Southeast Asia. Since 2003, Air Astana has also […]

• Randy Woods
• December 17, 2014

SF Express sets its sights on Europe

After growing its domestic service by leaps and bounds over the last few years, China’s SF Express is considering an expansion of its logistics services to Europe and a rapid increase in its freighter fleet in the next three years, according to media reports from China. Li Dongqi, president of SF Airlines, the airfreight subsidiary […]

• Randy Woods
• November 20, 2014

Narrow-body freighter conversion market rolls on

MIAMI – While the booming narrow-body conversion market may need to find other models as 737-400s become scarce, demand for these short- to medium-haul freighters is expected to remain strong for the next few years, according to freighter conversion panelists at the 20th annual Cargo Facts Aircraft Symposium, held last week in Miami. At a conference […]

• Randy Woods
• November 4, 2014