As the much of the rest of the world locks down over the novel coronavirus pandemic, particularly the United States, China is cautiously opening back up. Today there are mixed messages in the media, some citing resurgences in certain locations in China, with others questioning the transparency of their reporting in the first place. Notwithstanding all that, there are some positive developments in the arena of international cargo, especially airfreight.
As highlighted in Tuesday’s article (see HERE), the lack of flights with belly-hold capacity due to the suspension of most passenger services, has seen freight rates increase substantially. This in turn incentivises passenger airlines to convert Passenger to Cargo aircraft (known as P2C) to carry freight only.
Scheduled P2C services have commenced by Emirates, Cathay Pacific and Air China and more carriers are joining the trend. Other airlines such as Malaysian Airlines, Sichuan, China Eastern and China Southern have advised potential availability to operate either freighter services or P2C aircraft capacity on a charter basis. Â
Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines and Malaysian are reportedly using the passenger cabin to carry cargo on seats. Other airlines are studying the safety and operational implications of doing this, including the impact on aircraft turn-around times and loading delays in manually loading cargo on seats and securing the load.
Cathay Pacific has reported that P2C charter flights out of Hong Kong to Australian ports, carrying medical supplies and other goods originating from Shanghai and Southern China are being added daily. In this week and next Cathay Pacific are handling 22 P2C flights ex HKG: 12 to SYD, 5 to MEL and 5 to BNE.
Cathay Pacific advises that these aircraft are returning to Hong Kong with connections beyond, offering space for freight forwarders to access – contact us here at Colless Young for further details.
The reaction by carriers and the government to source additional airfreight capacity, quickly and in innovative ways, will assist you as shipper, and us as freight forwarders, to move essential goods at this challenging time.
We continue to issue regular updates on the effects on international trade and shipping as a result of COVID-19, as the situation unfolds. As licensed Customs Brokers and International Freight Forwarders, Colless Young offers you correct, professional advice on all your import and export shipping needs. We handle cargo at all major ports and airports around Australia.
