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Tag: air cargo

  • FedEx Adds Four Weekly China-US Cargo Flights for AI Hardware

    FedEx Adds Four Weekly China-US Cargo Flights for AI Hardware

    FedEx has added four weekly Boeing 777 freighter flights connecting Shanghai and Guangzhou with its United States hubs, expanding transpacific capacity for semiconductors and artificial intelligence infrastructure.

    Three flights depart Shanghai with a scheduled stop in Osaka before flying to Anchorage and Memphis, while a fourth flight operates from Guangzhou to the same American transfer points.

    The express carrier confirmed the extra air cargo space on November 9, explicitly designating the routes for advanced industrial manufacturing, chip components, computing infrastructure and high-end cross-border e-commerce.

    Routing Through Japan’s Component Belt

    Inserting Osaka into the Shanghai rotation reflects the dense interdependency of East Asian technology manufacturing. Japanese suppliers provide essential semiconductor fabrication equipment and chemicals, meaning freighters can consolidate sub-assemblies before crossing the Pacific.

    Air transport commands premium rates over ocean freight, yet high-value processors and server racks demand rapid delivery schedules that maritime shipping cannot match. For suppliers and logistics planners, dedicating long-range widebody aircraft to specific technology corridors shortens transit cycles between manufacturing centers and American integration hubs.

    Physical Cargo Defies Equity Jitters

    Financial markets pulled back sharply from artificial intelligence shares last week following concerns over potential policy limits on data center construction in the United States. Physical freight volumes tell a different story.

    Carriers do not fuel Boeing 777 freighters on speculation. Increasing scheduled capacity between Chinese assembly plants and American distribution bases demonstrates that hardware procurement orders remain fully funded on factory floors.

    Export Momentum Ahead of Bilateral Talks

    Chinese outbound trade figures for October projected exports to climb roughly one-third in dollar terms compared to the prior year, driven largely by global procurement of specialized electronics. That outbound volume delivers critical revenue to integrated air freight operators while keeping cargo yields firm.

    Trade balances and advanced technology access also frame diplomatic talks between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Shenzhen in mid-November.

    Official customs figures released on Tuesday will verify whether air-eligible technology shipments kept pace with cargo allocations.

  • SIA Buys up to 4,800 Tonnes of Sustainable Fuel from Aether

    SIA Buys up to 4,800 Tonnes of Sustainable Fuel from Aether

    Singapore Airlines (SIA) has inked a deal to purchase up to 4,800 tonnes of sustainable aviation fuel over three years from Aether Fuels’ Singapore plant, with deliveries starting in 2028.

    The binding agreement, signed on Oct 23, makes the carrier the first buyer of fuel from Project Beacon, which Aether is developing at Aster’s refining complex at Pulau Bukom, according to a joint statement released on Oct 28.

    Under Project Beacon, feedstocks such as biomethane and industrial waste gases will be converted into aviation fuel, marking SIA’s first purchase of sustainable fuel produced via waste carbon technology rather than conventional lipid-based pathways.

    Waste gases replace lipid feedstocks

    This approach offers an alternative to the hydro-processed esters and fatty acids pathway, which relies on more constrained lipid-based feedstocks.

    The agreement builds on the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between SIA and Aether in 2025.

    Supply limits and aviation costs

    Since signing the MOU, Aether has established its first commercial facility in Singapore, while also building partnerships across the local value chain.

    “Singapore is building a strong ecosystem for aviation decarbonisation through refining and aviation infrastructure, investment support, sustainability policies, and utilising its position as a global aviation hub,” said Conor Madigan, co-founder and chief executive of Aether.

    Building out the Bukom project

    Lee Wen Fen, chief sustainability officer at SIA, said that supporting the development and adoption of sustainable aviation fuel, as well as securing future supplies, is integral to SIA’s ambition of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

    “We will continue to work with partners globally to scale sustainable aviation fuel production, strengthen the aviation industry’s sustainability ecosystem, and support the transition to more sustainable air travel,” she added.

    Target dates and local mandates

    Deliveries under the binding agreement are scheduled to begin in 2028 from the Pulau Bukom site as both companies work toward supporting long-term aviation decarbonisation goals.

  • Malaysia Seizes 30 AI Chip Servers Worth $12 Million at Kuala Lumpur Airport

    Malaysia Seizes 30 AI Chip Servers Worth $12 Million at Kuala Lumpur Airport

    Malaysian customs officers intercepted 30 server units carrying advanced artificial intelligence chips valued at 49.5 million ringgit ($12.11 million) at Kuala Lumpur International Airport this month. The hardware was falsely labelled as basic electronic parts to skirt international transit rules.

    Authorities discovered the cargo on October 15 during an inspection inside the airport’s free trade zone. The shipment began in an unnamed Asian country and was destined for re-export to another nation in the region without the mandatory trade clearances.

    Inspection at the Free Trade Zone

    Customs officials confirmed that the shipment needed formal regulatory clearance under statutory cross-border rules before transit. Airport customs director Aspalila Ag Tuah said the paper declarations concealed the true nature of the server units.

    “The servers were falsely declared as electronic components… and shipped through Malaysia to ensure there would be no restrictions imposed while being exported to the next destination,” Aspalila said.

    A domestic logistics firm that facilitated the shipment has been summoned to assist investigators with shipping paperwork and chain-of-custody logs. The enforcement arm is tracing the freight forwarders who booked the cargo bays.

    Syndicate Routes Across Regional Hubs

    Investigators suspect the seized hardware connects to an established electronics smuggling operation operating across regional air terminals. Aspalila noted the cargo matched patterns observed in an earlier interception executed at the same airport in June.

    Enforcement records now tie at least five separate cases to this specific network. Total hardware confiscations linked to the syndicate exceed 100 million ringgit across multiple warehouse raids and transit stops.

    The pattern reveals how intermediary air hubs are being tested by clandestine brokers attempting to circumvent semiconductor oversight. Transit points in Southeast Asia face intense pressure to track high-specification gear routed under general electronics descriptions.

    Export Controls and Supply Chain Oversight

    Malaysia imposed explicit export controls last year on the shipment of advanced AI chips originating from the United States, following measures aimed at halting unauthorized semiconductor transfers into China. Those regulations mandate strict transit permits for restricted computational units traversing domestic export processing zones.

    For regional freight operators and warehouse managers, the seizure increases compliance liability on standard electronics manifests. Cargo handlers face heavier penalties if freight declarations fail to specify exact processing capabilities and hardware types.

    Transshipment hubs like Kuala Lumpur rely on fast clearance cycles to maintain air cargo competitiveness. Routine physical inspections of server racks inevitably slow turnaround times for legitimate enterprise hardware distributors.

    Enforcement Track Record

    The October intervention follows a similar raid in June, when customs officials seized roughly $13 million worth of high-end processor units passing through the same airport facility. That earlier operation exposed the operational blueprint of shell forwarders using regional transshipment corridors.

    Enforcement teams are reviewing electronic freight waybills across all five connected cases to identify common corporate handlers. Customs officials have declined to reveal the origin or end destinations while investigations remain active.

    Investigators are now cross-referencing company filings of the local forwarding intermediary against export manifests filed earlier this quarter. Customs authorities are preparing formal charges as forensic analysis of the seized 30 server racks continues.

  • SAS Cargo Names Allied Aviation GSSA for Five Weekly India Flights

    SAS Cargo Names Allied Aviation GSSA for Five Weekly India Flights

    SAS Cargo appointed Allied Aviation as its general sales and services agent in India on 1 October to fill bellyhold capacity across five weekly flights between Mumbai and Copenhagen.

    The scheduled widebody service runs on Airbus A330 passenger aircraft, opening direct air freight corridors between western India and Scandinavian distribution hubs.

    Under the agreement, Allied Aviation handles local cargo sales, ground supervision, and revenue management across the country. The sales push targets five primary export sectors: pharmaceuticals, temperature-controlled perishables, garments, engineering machinery, and cross-border e-commerce parcels.

    Network coverage across major manufacturing hubs

    Allied Aviation will market the Scandinavian capacity through its established regional branch network. That footprint spans nine major export and logistics centres: Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Kochi, and Thiruvananthapuram.

    Exporters based in automotive and textile clusters across southern and western India gain direct routing into northern Europe without transiting through Gulf hubs. That eliminates one transfer point and reduces transit times for time-sensitive cargo.

    “This is an important addition to our airline portfolio, giving Indian exporters direct capacity into Copenhagen and access to SAS Cargo’s wider network across Scandinavia and beyond,” said Kritika Seth, executive director, Allied Aviation.

    Shifting trade flows and airline representation

    Competition among general sales agents in India has intensified as foreign carriers rebuild long-haul networks into South Asia. WestJet Cargo appointed AVIAREPS as its Indian cargo sales agent in mid-September, highlighting how North American and European carriers rely on local agencies rather than dedicated sales forces to manage regional freight demand.

    For retailers and industrial suppliers, dedicated Scandinavian lift provides direct access to Nordic consumer markets. The commercial risk sits squarely on yield management, where agents must secure high-paying pharmaceutical and electronics contracts to balance lower-yielding garment and general freight volumes.

    Fleet deployment and scheduled operations

    Deploying the Airbus A330 on the Copenhagen-Mumbai city pair gives SAS Cargo predictable lower-deck container capacity on every flight. Long-haul bellyhold operations depend on rapid turnaround times and tight coordination with freight forwarders in tier-one and tier-two industrial corridors.

    The carrier previously focused its Asian cargo footprint primarily on East Asian manufacturing gateways. Adding five weekly frequencies into Mumbai connects Nordic industrial supply chains directly to Indian contract manufacturers.

    Next commercial steps in Miami

    Allied Aviation will take its expanded carrier representation portfolio to international forwarders at the TIACA Air Cargo Forum in Miami, scheduled for 26 to 29 October. The agency plans to finalise winter booking allocations and forwarder block space agreements at the event.

  • FedEx Transports Two Giant Pandas from China to the US

    FedEx Transports Two Giant Pandas from China to the US

    FedEx transported two giant pandas from Chengdu, China to Atlanta, Georgia in September 2026 aboard a Boeing 777 freighter known as the FedEx Panda Express.

    The airline partnered with Zoo Atlanta to move six-year-old male Ping Ping and five-year-old female Fu Shuang, donating the full transportation cost as part of its conservation efforts.

    Custom handling on the transpacific route

    Both bears departed Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport and landed nonstop at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Ping Ping and Fu Shuang traveled in custom-built travel crates under the care of Zoo Atlanta animal specialists as the sole cargo aboard the aircraft.

    Ground logistics teams in Atlanta managed the final truck transfer directly to the zoo’s veterinary facilities. FedEx provided the transport under its conservation charter program, which operates at zero cost to the receiving institution.

    Specialized charters and express capacity

    Specialized live-animal charters require dedicated aircraft allocation, temperature-controlled main deck space, and direct routings that bypass standard transshipment hubs. For global integrators with large transpacific networks, these single-mission flights show charter responsiveness. They also demonstrate cold-chain precision across long-haul Asian corridors.

    Animal transports pull main deck capacity out of commercial rotation on high-demand export lanes out of western China. Chengdu remains a primary air cargo gateway for electronics and industrial exports. Slot management and widebody availability are central to carrier yields in the region.

    Two decades of Chengdu animal transport

    This operation follows a series of conservation flights handled by the 86 billion dollar logistics operator over the past 24 years. The company first carried giant pandas out of China in 2000. It has since run multiple dedicated missions between Chinese breeding centers and international zoological facilities.

    We have had the privilege of transporting giant pandas for more than two decades, and every time the FedEx Panda Express is called into service, our entire team feels the significance of the mission.

    Quarantine and public debut schedule

    Ping Ping and Fu Shuang are now in mandatory quarantine at Zoo Atlanta. Veterinary staff are monitoring their adjustment to the facility. Zoo management plans to clear the pair for public exhibition later this year once routine health checks conclude.

  • DHL Express Names Julian Neo Managing Director for Hong Kong and Macau

    DHL Express Names Julian Neo Managing Director for Hong Kong and Macau

    DHL Express appointed Julian Neo as managing director for Hong Kong and Macau on October 1. He brings 25 years of company experience to the regional role.

    Neo led operations across Malaysia and Brunei from 2019. Over that period, he delivered consecutive gains in revenue and operating earnings.

    His career across the logistics group spans commercial, sales and regional management roles in Singapore, Malaysia and the wider Asia-Pacific territory. Before running the Malaysian unit, Neo served as vice president for global multinational customers across the region. He succeeds Andy Chiang.

    Leadership change in Hong Kong and Macau

    Neo takes on the role with extensive commercial experience in Southeast Asia. Hong Kong serves as a primary air express gateway for the Pearl River Delta manufacturing region, handling high-value tech components, cross-border e-commerce parcels and time-critical trade documentation.

    Annual price adjustment from January 1, 2027

    DHL Express will raise average shipping rates in Hong Kong and Macau by 4.9 per cent on January 1, 2027. According to the company, it adjusts its prices annually to account for inflationary pressures, currency fluctuations and industry-specific cost developments.

    Investment in air freight capacity and security

    DHL Express has completed deliveries for its global order of 28 Boeing 777 dedicated freighters. The aircraft add long-range capacity while reducing fuel burn per ton-kilometer.

    The company also surpassed 500 Transported Asset Protection Association (TAPA) certified sites globally in 2026 and expanded deployment of its MyExpress cross-border shipping platform.

  • Asia Air Cargo Rates Diverge as Transpacific Prices Surge 30 Percent

    Asia Air Cargo Rates Diverge as Transpacific Prices Surge 30 Percent

    Air cargo rates from China to the United States climbed 30 per cent year-on-year ahead of the peak shipping rush, driven by steady semiconductor and e-commerce shipments.

    By contrast, rates on the China-to-Europe corridor rose 12 per cent over the same period, slowed by the European Union ending its de minimis tax exemption on July 1.

    The price split reflects an uneven recovery across Asian export corridors. While air space out of Taiwan remains tight on artificial intelligence hardware, and outbound demand from South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore holds firm, outbound volumes from mainland China and Hong Kong have cooled. Pricing data from the TAC Index shows transpacific air freight maintaining a sharp premium, supported by technology shipments alongside higher jet fuel expenses caused by Persian Gulf shipping disruptions.

    Ground Bottlenecks and Route Shifts

    Airlines and forwarders face wide gaps in aircraft fill rates across the region. Dedicated freighter aircraft operate at roughly 65 per cent average load factors, compared with only 36 per cent for passenger aircraft belly hold space, according to IATA figures cited in the Journal of the Air Transport Research Society.

    Freight forwarder Dimerco Express Group noted that cross-border shippers altered transport modes to bypass tight air lanes, diverting freight between China, Vietnam and Thailand onto road networks and utilizing rail corridors into Europe. Early tariff front-loading by retail importers also pulled seasonal volumes forward into earlier quarters.

    Capacity limits on the ground often matter more than available aircraft. At regional transshipment hubs such as the Maldives’ Velana International Airport, which handled nearly 89,000 tonnes of cargo in 2025, warehouse throughput and labor deployment govern holiday processing speeds rather than runway slots.

    Shifting Asian Supply Chain Flows

    For consumer brands and electronics manufacturers across Asia, these fragmented lane dynamics mean freight procurement can no longer rely on broad regional averages. Shippers managing supply chains out of Taipei or Penang face sustained space premiums that do not match the softer spot rates available out of southern Chinese export hubs.

    Carriers are adjusting winter flight schedules to manage the uneven demand. Velana International Airport expects flight movements to rise 12 per cent during the 2026/27 winter schedule, supported by new scheduled freighter operations including Raya Airways’ weekly service from Penang.

  • FedEx Commits $150 Million to Build Automated Air Cargo Hub at Delhi Airport

    FedEx Commits $150 Million to Build Automated Air Cargo Hub at Delhi Airport

    FedEx will spend $150 million to build and equip a dedicated air freight terminal at Delhi international airport, expanding its international cargo processing capacity across northern India. The planned 230,000-square-foot facility will lift the carrier’s sorting rate at the airport from 600 packages an hour to 5,000.

    The investment will consolidate FedEx’s scattered pickup and delivery operations around the airport into a single base. It includes high-speed automated conveyor lines and computer vision scanners powered by artificial intelligence to route international parcels through customs and sorting lanes.

    Consolidation at GMR Cargo Campus

    Airport operator GMR Airports Ltd is developing the broader cargo zone to house airlines, freight forwarders, and logistics providers. Phase 1 will cover roughly one million square feet, with construction starting shortly. A planned second phase could add between 500,000 and one million square feet of space.

    FedEx is leasing the warehouse structure from GMR and financing all internal sorting systems, scanning hardware, and IT infrastructure. The site design allows for modular physical expansion as freight volumes increase.

    “India is a critical market in our global network, with North and East India playing an important role in the country’s growing trade and economic opportunity,” said Kami Viswanathan, president of FedEx Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and Africa. Viswanathan noted that the expanded presence aims to give regional exporters faster links to overseas buyers as annual Indian merchandise trade exceeds $1.2 trillion.

    Expanding the Indian Triangle

    The Delhi project is the third major air cargo site FedEx has funded in India over the past nine months. In February, the Memphis-based logistics group committed $250 million for an on-airport freight facility at Navi Mumbai International Airport, an Adani Group project targeting 500,000 metric tons of cargo capacity in its initial phase. FedEx will run that site alongside its existing operations at Mumbai’s legacy airport.

    Before that, in December, the company opened a 60,000-square-foot hub at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru, processing up to 4,000 packages an hour across pharmaceutical, industrial, and technology export lines.

    Connecting Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru gives FedEx dedicated airport-side sorting hubs across India’s three largest manufacturing and technology corridors. Construction on the Delhi cargo park begins in the coming weeks, with GMR preparing the phase one site for tenant fit-outs.

  • Hong Kong air cargo volumes continue rebound

    Hong Kong air cargo volumes continue rebound

    Cargo volumes at Hong Kong International Airport continued on its path to recovery in July as the airport recorded a year-on-year increase of 3.8 percent over the same month last year at 361,000 tonnes. 

    Month-on-month, this represents an uptick of 1.7 percent over June as flight movements reached 24,030, up 7.4 percent over the previous month. 

    Records say exports contributed the most to the year-on-year increase in cargo volumes in July, up 12.6 percent, with traffic to and from North America, the Middle East and Europe seeing significant growth during the month. 

    Considering the last 7 months, cargo volumes at Hong Kong airport slid 4.2 percent year on year to 2.4 million tonnes, as the airport handled 142,840 flight movements, almost double the flights (94 percent growth) seen over the same 7-month period last year. 

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  • Air cargo experiences strongest first half year growth since 2010

    Air cargo experiences strongest first half year growth since 2010

    The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for global air freight markets showing that demand, measured in freight tonne kilometers (FTKs), grew by 10.4% in the first-half of 2017 compared to the first-half of 2016. This was the strongest first half-year performance since air cargo’s rebound from the Global Financial Crisis in 2010 and nearly triple the industry’s average growth rate of 3.9% over the last five years.

    Freight capacity, measured in available freight tonne kilometers (AFTKs), grew by 3.6% in the first half of 2017 compared to the same period in 2016. Demand growth continues to significantly outstrip capacity growth, which is positive for yields.

    Air cargo’s strong performance in the first half of 2017 was confirmed by June’s results. Year-on-year demand growth in June increased 11% compared to the same year-earlier period. Freight capacity grew by 5.2% year-on-year in June.

    The sustained growth of air freight demand is consistent with an improvement in global trade, with new global export orders remaining close to a six-year high. However, there are some signs that the cyclical growth period may have peaked. The global inventory-to-sales ratio has stopped falling. This indicates that the period when companies look to restock inventories quickly, which often gives air cargo a boost, may be nearing an end. Regardless of these developments, the outlook for air freight is optimistic with demand expected to grow at a robust rate of 8% during the third quarter of this year.

    “Air cargo is flying high on the back of a stronger global economy. Demand is growing at a faster pace than at any time since the Global Financial Crisis. That’s great news after many years of stagnation. And, even more importantly, the industry is taking advantage of this momentum to accelerate much-needed process modernization and improve the value it provides to its many customers,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

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  • Hazmat Worries Growing

    Hazmat Worries Growing

    Concerns are rising about hazardous cargo. Bans on Galaxy Note 7 smartphones by airlines mark the latest flashpoint in a debate on how to reduce risks from carrying dangerous goods, but there are also worries in the maritime sector.

    Troubles with Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 have reignited the debate on lithium batteries. After faulty batteries on some units went ablaze, several airlines, including Finnair, Qantas, Aeroflot and Air Canada, have banned the smartphone from their cargo holds.

    Samsung has recalled 2.5 million of the smartphones in at least 10 countries and promised to send replacements out as quickly as possible.

    Airlines that knowingly carry the version with potentially defective batteries or shippers that send them as air freight would be breaking IATA’s Dangerous Goods rules, which mandate that “lithium batteries identified by the manufacturer as being defective for safety reasons, or that have been damaged, that have the potential of producing a dangerous evolution of heat, fire or short circuit are forbidden for transport (for example those being returned to the manufacturer for safety reasons).”

    The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) issued an interim ban on lithium-ion battery shipments on passenger aircraft, which came into effect on April 1. According to ICAO, it will stay in force until a new, safer packaging standard has been established.

    The ban has been criticized by battery manufacturers and some shipper organizations. Many airlines have refrained from comment. According to IATA, about 400 million lithium-ion batteries are produced every week. Most of them are shipped by ocean carrier, but a small contingent goes by air.

    Much of the opposition to bans has revolved around the issue of undeclared battery shipments, which are seen to pose a greater risk. In a joint letter sent in early August to ministers of trade, industry and transport, and directors of civil aviation in the world’s largest lithium battery producing countries, IATA, the Global Shippers Forum, the International Air Cargo Association and several battery manufacturer interest groups called for lithium battery safety regulations to be enforced at the point of origin, including the initial shipper and the battery manufacturer.

    The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) appears bent on stepping up enforcement. It recently hit a company that had tendered a shipment of 30 four-ounce ‘Fryer Boil-Out Foaming’ tablets made of corrosive sodium hydroxide for air transportation from Florida to North Carolina to UPS with a US$54,000 fine.

    The amount and the fact that a shipper was punished (usually the FAA metes out fines to carriers, who then deal with clients who have tendered hazmat cargo without proper identification) suggest that the administration is sending out a signal, one airline executive commented.

    In June the FAA slapped a US$350,000 penalty on Amazon, after the company had tendered a package containing a one-gallon container of “Amazing! LIQUID FIRE,” a corrosive drain cleaner, for air transport to UPS. DHL was fined US$455,000 for seven hazardous materials violations back in February.

    “It’s like the Wild West where some companies, lacking in logistics expertise, make serious mistakes in the shipping process, such as unwittingly sending hazardous material via air freight without the benefit of knowledgeable, trained shipping professionals who can provide the necessary advice in adhering to regulations and keeping the flying public safe,” remarked Brandon Fried, executive director of the US Airforwarders Association.

    “As e-commerce volumes increase, shippers will likely experience an increase by the FAA in vigorous enforcement of hazardous material regulations to avoid similar occurrences,” he added.

    IATA has warned about hazardous materials being shipped without proper declarations in mail. The rapid growth of e-commerce, drawing in many merchants with scant or no knowledge of hazardous goods regulations, has heightened concerns about this.

    Concerns about misdeclared hazmat shipments are not confined to air cargo. According to mutual insurance association P&I Club, mis-declared cargo is responsible for 27% of incidents on ships, second only to poor packaging.

    Cargo insurance firm TT Club recently issued a warning about hazardous cargo. Peregrine Storrs-Fox, the company’s risk management director, pointed out that risk assessment surveys at ports over the last 12-18 months have found “worryingly little adherence to segregation requirements for dangerous goods.”

    He pointed to the explosion at Tianjin port a year ago, which resulted in insured losses between US$2.5 and US$3.5 billion. “It underlines how cargo in transit, potentially mis-declared, or packed or handled incorrectly, can cause widespread damage and loss of life,” he said.

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  • Amazon is Secretly Testing Air Cargo Operations

    Amazon is Secretly Testing Air Cargo Operations

    Amazon.com, Inc. has been conducting secret trial flights that have carried thousands of packages to and from its fulfillment centers in the United Kingdom. Evening Standard reports that the tech-giant has chartered a Boeing 737 aircraft, which has been flying on routes between Poland, Germany, and England since mid-November.

    The online-retail giant has reportedly chartered the aircraft from DB Schenker, a German logistics company. Five weekly flights have been determined so far, on which the planes travel first from Katowice, Poland to Kassel, Germany. Katowice and Kassel are both significant stops, as the airports in these towns are within close proximity of the e-commerce giant’s huge warehouses in the two countries, respectively.

    The flight then continues from Germany to England, where the plane finally lands at one of the airports in Luton, Doncaster or East Midlands. The packages are dispatched from these airports to Amazon’s various fulfillment centers, including its biggest one at Dunfermline and another in Hemel Hempstead. The company is also rumored to extend the trials by chartering more planes and include its centers in Italy and Spain in this network.

    The move highlights Amazon’s urgency to limit reliance on traditional courier firms. The company has already built its own van delivery fleet in the UK this year, after one of its couriers, CityLink, went bankrupt. On a global-scale, the company has locked horns with its chief carrier UPS. Amazon provides business worth around $1 billion to UPS, but its dissatisfaction has risen due to the increasing shipment charges. Shipping cost has increased 10.4% in a year, compared to revenues growth of 11.7% in the same period.

    This means generating higher revenues did not have the expected positive impact on earnings, if supply chain costs had been further streamlined. Amazon was further unhappy with UPS services, when during last two Christmas periods the courier services was unable to deliver consumer packages on schedule, due to delivery overload. Consequentially, the e-commerce giant has sought to build its own distribution network to restrict costs, and have more control over its distribution network.

    Even within the US, recent reports suggest Amazon is looking to lease 20 Boeing 767 freight aircrafts. While these are positive cost control strategies for the online-retail firm, its air cargo expansion spells trouble for traditional freight carriers such as UPS, FedEx, and DHL. These couriers will likely lose a great chunk of business when Amazon starts carrying its own inter and intra-continental freight.

    An Amazon spokesman was quite tight-lipped when the Evening Standard asked for a comment over the European flights, and did not reveal information beyond the fact that the retail-firm employs various distribution and fulfillment modes, including air transport. No other official statement was made by the company.

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