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At the 2016 Asian Logistics Biennale, the world's third-largest Cargo airline revealed that it would launch the world's largest commercial airliner A380 in July to fly the route from Doha Hamad International Airport to Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, one flight a day. With the help of the belly cabin provided by the new aircraft, the weekly round-trip cargo volume at this point in Guangzhou will increase by tens of tons.



As of now, Qatar has only opened three freight transportation points in China, namely Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, with a freight volume of approximately 2400 tons per week. In addition, with the help of Qatar Airways wide body airliner, it also provides air cargo services for seven civil aviation cities, including Beijing and Chengdu.



Like many overseas airlines, truck freight has its ambitions for China's cargo market. Ulrich Ogiermann said that it hopes to cover all freight centers in China in the future and enter the market.



The company also plans to expand its freight fleet to 22 aircraft in 2017. In addition to leveraging its presence in the Chinese market, it will also increase the capacity of certain cities and expand its route network by opening two freight hubs, Halifax and JFK Airport in New York, in mid July. In the next 9 months, we aim to become the main force in the cross Pacific, Australian, and South American markets



It is not only card airlines that continue to increase their weight in air cargo business, but also many competing companies in terms of capacity investment targeting the Chinese market. In the middle of last year, Luxembourg Cargo Airlines established a base air cargo company in Zhengzhou through a joint venture, continuously promoting a joint venture with Henan Airlines, focusing on operating cross Pacific and intra Asia Pacific routes. In addition, companies such as Lufthansa and Air China have traditionally encrypted cargo flights to and from China. In addition to Qatar Airways, several major airlines in the Middle East are constantly increasing the input of Chinese cargo aircraft and belly cabin transport capacity.



In addition, local Chinese companies are also eyeing air freight. In May this year, Tianjin Air Cargo Co., Ltd., the first Cargo airline in Tianjin, was officially established; In the same month, Guangdong Longhao Airlines Co., Ltd., an airline engaged in cargo and mail transportation business in Guangzhou, was approved for establishment.



However, the air cargo business is still sluggish. Due to the weakness of global and regional trade, data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) showed that the global air cargo volume in March fell by 2% year on year. Although the global air cargo market turned around and achieved growth in April, the previous decline in global trade does not bode well for the air cargo market in the coming months. The association's relevant personnel previously pointed out that the freight growth in 2016 may still be only around 0.6%.



Faced with fierce market competition and unfavorable industry conditions, some companies are already taking measures. According to Dow Jones on June 13, Lufthansa Cargo, a freight subsidiary of Frankfurt Lufthansa, said recently that the company plans to cut as many as 800 employees globally to further reduce costs and compete more effectively with its Middle East rivals. The company spokesperson stated that the layoff plan will help the company reduce costs by 80 million euros.



Regarding the Chinese market, overseas air freight companies still express optimism. A business insider told the Daily Economic News that China is currently in a period of economic transformation, which brings challenges but also opportunities. In this context, it intends to gain a share in such a market. Competition does exist, but we are confident that as long as we have a good network, a growing fleet, and an increasingly diverse product portfolio, we will have market competitiveness