Cathay Pacific Cargo will start serving Portland, Oregon with freighters from November 3, 2016.

The flight will be operated twice a week with a Boeing 747-8F, routing via Anchorage and Los Angeles from Hong Kong and via Anchorage on the way back.

“The Americas is a very important market for Cathay Pacific and we are delighted to add Portland to our expanding freighter network,” said Simon Large, director of cargo. “We are committed to providing the best cargo services connecting Asia to this important manufacturing region, and at the same time boosting Hong Kong’s standing as one of the world’s key international air freight hubs.”

According to Cathay, the new service is aimed at the growing demand to transport a wide range of commodities from the Pacific Northwest of the US to destinations in Asia.

“The importance of this new service to Portland cannot be overstated,” said Philippe Lacamp, senior vice president of the Americas at Cathay Pacific. “The high density of technology companies, athletic and footwear manufacturers and exporting businesses in the region make it a natural extension to our existing Hong Kong-Anchorage-Los Angeles service.”

The Port of Portland, which owns and operates the airport, credited the support of its International Air Service Committee and regional businesses in securing the flight from Cathay.

“We could not be more pleased with the commitment by Cathay Pacific to launch PDX-Hong Kong service this fall,” said Keith Leavitt, chief commercial officer. “Our goal over the past two years of recruitment has been to secure service from a world-class carrier that will meet the needs of local shippers and forwarders to get Oregon exports to markets, and Cathay Pacific is that carrier.”

The new flight, which will be Portland’s first connection to Asia, will benefit major exporters such as Nike and Columbia Sportswear Company, both based in Oregon.

“The new Cathay Pacific direct air cargo service from Portland to Asia will not only enhance trade opportunities for companies across the Pacific Northwest, it will also significantly reduce the time it takes to transport our iconic air bags, manufactured at Nike facilities in Oregon and Missouri, to factories in Asia that produce Nike footwear,” said Eric Sprunk, chief operating officer of Nike, Inc.

Portland will be Cathay’s seventh freighter-only and 13^th overall destination in the US.

Details of the new flights are as follows.