Tech-enabled forwarder and customs broker Flexport will launch its own private cargo flight between Los Angeles and Hong Kong in April 2018.
According to Flexport, the service will provide reliable end-to-end freight forwarding to manufacturers, exporters and trading companies based in Southern China, as well as other parts of Greater China and Asia Pacific. Flexport will integrating the private air freight service with its online supply chain management platform to provide more comprehensive, efficient and reliable freight forwarding service to customers amidst air freight space constraints in the market.
The flight will be operated twice a week by a Boeing 747-400 freighter which can carry 100 tonnes of cargo per flight, resulting in a total cargo capacity of 1600 tonnes every month. To address the rise in demand during the peak season, three flights will be operated every week, increasing total cargo capacity to 2,400 tonnes per month. The private air cargo service will target manufacturers, exporters and trading companies in Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and other major cities in Southern China, as well as importers based in North America.
“The rapid growth of e-commerce, shortened consumer goods cycle and the growing demand of consumer products have led to the rise of demand for more flexible and efficient air freight services,” said Neel Jones Shah, global head of air freight and senior vice president of Flexport. “The air freight market continues to see robust growth and 2018 should be a solid year of demand on the heels of 2017, which was one of the best years in terms of volume and yield growth in the history of the industry. Given we hope to ensure adequate freight capacity for customers, the introduction of our own cargo freight services will enable us to avoid being too reliant on airlines’ air freight capacity and capacity constraints. By operating our own private cargo flights, we will have a steady and reliable air freight capacity, which brings a step closer to achieving annual revenue growth target of 300% globally.”
Customers will be able to monitor their shipments in real time.
Flexport has been innovating the forwarding and customs process with its online freight management platform, global trade database and a dedicated service team. The company continues to enhance its online platform and has also been providing value-added consultancy services around pre-shipment planning, resource allocation, data analysis and online supply chain management.
“The launch of our private air freight service in one of the world’s busiest routes is a key milestone of our business expansion in Greater China and Asia in 2018,” said Henry Ko, managing director of Asia at Flexport. “In order to maintain a steady business growth, we need to ensure the air freight capacity of Flexport and deliver more value to customers and partners through our premium freight forwarding service. Through ongoing integration of online and offline freight forwarding service, we are committed to facilitating innovation in the logistics industry and drive the rise of smart logistics in Greater China and Asia. Moving forward, we will increase our investment in technology, talent, logistics infrastructure and service in Greater China, bringing higher operational efficiency and greater value to manufacturers, exporters, trading companies and customers. The Hong Kong–Los Angeles private air freight service is just the beginning. We will continue to look out for opportunities and add more routes to cater for growing market demand, and expand our premium and reliable service to more customers and partners.”
Flexport is headquartered in San Francisco and operates warehouses in Hong Kong and Los Angeles, as well as a trucking service in the US.
