Swiss International Air Lines has inaugurated its Boeing 777-300ER on the Zurich-Hong Kong route, bringing with it an approximate 30% increase in cargo capacity.

The new type replaces the Airbus A340-300 three times every week until May 2, 2016, when the 777 will fly to Hong Kong four times a week. The flight will become a daily 777 operation from May 20.

Urs Stulz, vice president and head of the Central Services Group at Swiss WorldCargo, said that the extended-range configuration of the 777 enables the carrier to offer the increased capacity reliably throughout the year.

“With the A340, what used to happen was that there were some days or weeks in the year where we had to reduce the offering to the market,” said Stulz. “Because of winds or weather, pilots had to take additional fuel, which cut into the cargo payload. The arrival of the 777-300ER means our product has a higher degree of reliability and our customers can count on the uplift. This is a big advantage.”

The airline took delivery of its first 777-300ER in January 2016 and a second in March, flying them on intra-Europe flights and to Montreal.

Tod Mawhinney, director and head of the Far East at Swiss WorldCargo, said that the high demand for cargo capacity was a significant factor behind Hong Kong becoming the second long-haul destination for the 777.

“Additionally, what’s interesting is that because the 777 flies faster, our flight actually leaves a little bit later,” said Mawhinney. “Some of our top valuable and express customers do pickups late in the day and bring them to the airport. Even if it’s just 15 minutes or half an hour extra, it means a lot and there’s less pressure for them to do things. That results in a better service from our end as well, because when you’re under time pressure, sometimes the information is not as good.”

SWISS has seven more 777-300ERs on order, and is planning to fly them to Los Angeles from June, Bangkok from July, Sao Paulo and San Francisco from August, and Singapore and Tel Aviv from September.