Saudia marches towards Asia

WHILE most carriers are shying away from weak Asian markets, Saudi Airlines Cargo is striding confidently towards them with new services this March.

On 4 March the carrier added a second weekly MD-11F from Guangzhou (China) direct to Brussels (Belgium).

With the new service, Saudia will offer 180 metric tonnes a week from the largest manufacturing base in South China to destinations in the Middle East, Africa and Europe. Via a combination of passenger and freighter flights, total frequencies from Guangzhou will increase to five a week.

“This new expansion comes at a fitting time as China’s export market fully reopens after Chinese New Year,” Vikram Vohra, regional sales director Far East at Saudi Airlines Cargo, says.

Saudia will also launch a new 747 freighter flight from Saigon (Vietnam) from 25 March. In combination with its Hong Kong (China) flights, the service will operate two times a week, linking Vietnam with the Middle East and Frankfurt (Germany).

“With China becoming more expensive, production is increasingly being moved to Vietnam and other developing countries. This new service will enable us to expand our network into the region in response to changing market conditions,” Peter Scholten, vice-president commercial at Saudi Airlines Cargo, comments.

At the end of February the carrier also announced the start of three flights from the Benelux region to Dubai (UAE) in a charter partnership with DHL Global Forwarding starting in March.