Turkish Cargo, ZTO Express and PAL Air Ltd. have entered into a joint venture partnership to form a global express company providing door-to-door logistics, trucking, collection and distribution, freight transportation, cross-docking, final-mile delivery, warehouse management and order and supply chain management services.

“We are now delighted to make this strategic move into global express business together with the strong partnership of ZTO, the best and largest express company from China, and our long-term cross-border forwarding partner PAL Air Ltd. from Hong Kong,” said M. İlker Aycı [centre in photo], chairman of the board and the executive committee at Turkish Airlines. “The joint venture, after reaching quickly to fully functional and operational levels, is expected to take place within the world’s largest integrators. In five years’ time it will generate over US$2 billion of revenue. The growth is expected to continue gradually parallel to the e-commerce demand.”

The e-commerce shipments to be handled by the new JV company will flow through Istanbul New Airport, which is expected to commence operations by October 29, 2018 and will serve as Turkish Airlines’ main hub, providing Turkish Cargo with a handling capacity of up to 4 million tonnes.

ZTO handles approximately 28 million parcels every day and has an extensive delivery network throughout China. Alibaba Group recently announced that it would buy 10% of ZTO Express through an investment of US$1.38 billion, a deal expected to close within June 2018.

“As the largest express delivery company in the world, ZTO is an open platform built on core values of ‘Co-create and Share,’” said Lai Mei Song [left in photo], chairman of ZTO Express. “Because of the innovation and globalization of new retail and e-commerce, China’s logistics industry is provided with tremendous new growth opportunities. ZTO will continue to solidify and strengthen its competitive advantage for domestic growth, and will actively explore and expand international markets, building cross-border business as an important growth engine for the future. The cooperation between the three partners will form synergy by combining strong core competencies and integrating key resources, and will undoubtedly effect positive progress in the areas of global express delivery, warehousing, cargo freight and aviation route development and more, and will ultimately benefit traders and consumers globally.”

PAL Air Ltd. recently launched a B-to-C wholesale postal express service, including last-mile fulfilment to retail express service providers in Hong Kong, China, Thailand, Vietnam, India and the US.

“We are in one of the most exciting times of the human history,” said Vivian Lau [right in photo], vice chairman of PAL Air Ltd. “The IoT, robotics, artificial intelligence, 3D printing, VR/AR/MR will unleash unprecedented opportunities and challenges. To add to this list, the world is awaiting the launch of 5G which promises 10 gigabits per second, a hundred times faster than the current 4G technology. All these will provide further fuel to the already explosive e-commerce development. PAL is honoured to have played a role in creating a three-party venture that will unleash the best of three worlds, together with two global giants, Turkish Airlines and ZTO. Turkish Airlines, ZTO and PAL look forward to the creation of a world-class integrator.”

Turkish Airlines flies to over 300 destinations in 121 countries, the largest global airline network in terms of international destinations and countries. The new JV will expand the carrier’s business scope and enable ZTO and PAL Air Ltd. to broaden their focus from domestic China to global markets using Turkish Airlines’ network capabilities, according to Turkish Cargo.