Online air cargo capacity trading platform Airblox has added Vietnamese freight forwarder HPW Cargo to its platform becoming the first Southeast Asian company to join the new marketplace trading electronic Block Space Agreements (eBSA).

Airblox is an online marketplace that enables brokers, freight forwarders, and airlines to trade cargo capacity in the form of eBSAs.

Hanoi-headquartered HPW Cargo, which has offices in Ho Chi Minh City, as well as Hai Phong and Noi Bai airports, will start the partnership by listing its recurring Block Space Agreement (BSA) positions on the Hanoi, Vietnam, to Frankfurt, Germany, lane this summer.

A BSA is the purchase of an agreed capacity or space on the flight of an airline or a carrier.

Airblox Southeast Asia expansion

Buyers of capacity can bid for, buy outright, or block space from the holder of a BSA electronically using Airblox's eBSAs.

"Our partnership with HPW Cargo marks our first expansion into the South-East Asian market as we continue to build our network, meet growth targets, and provide our platform to a larger user base," said Edip Pektas, founder, Airblox.

"We look forward to working with HPW Cargo and finding new opportunities to develop together."

Established in 2009, HPW Cargo offers a full range of services, including air freight, warehouse and distribution, Customs brokering, in-land transportation, and ocean freight.

"Joining Airblox will be a great benefit for HPW Cargo as it allows us to automate our services and expand globally," said Harris Hieu, sales manager, HPW Cargo.

"We strongly believe that the Airblox business model is the future of air cargo space sale and that taking the very first step with them will help us gain a foothold into the 'Industry 4.0' of interconnectivity and smart automation," the HPW Cargo executive added.

Airblox is the first online platform to enable air cargo capacity to be traded in a blockchain infrastructure ensuring secure transactions.

The platform has over 2000 lanes listed, with predictive analytics and pricing forecast on major cargo lanes.

Buyers can bid for these spaces and get a response to their bids within minutes.

In June, leading French air charter broker Avico started listing freighter capacity on the Airblox platform.