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Qantas launches direct freighter service
Australia’s Qantas Freight today commences its direct weekly freighter service between HCMC and the United States via China’s Shanghai after three years of transporting cargo in passenger flights.
The maiden freighter of Qantas departing Tan Son Nhat on Wednesday is fully loaded with cargo, said Bui Quang Hung, chairman of HCMC-based Sovereign Global Logistics Co., which has been acting as Qantas Freight’s general sales and service agent in Vietnam since 2006.
Hung told the launch ceremony that Vietnam’s positive economic growth and an increase in some major exports including apparel in the year to date were among the reasons behind Qantas Freight’s decision to launch a freighter to HCMC.
Qantas uses Boeing B747-400F aircraft for its weekly flight from HCMC on every Thursday, with loading capacity up to 100 tons per flight, Hung said.
He said the cargo would actually be transported by Qantas freighters from HCMC to China’s Shanghai Pudong International Airport before the cargo went to the U.S. destinations and other markets where the carrier is present.
The service from Vietnam to the U.S., he said, departs HCMC late on Thursday night before arriving in New York on Friday morning and Chicago early on Saturday morning.
Also from the major airfreight hub in China, Qantas Freight’s road feeder service using customs bonded trucks serves 30 destinations in mainland China.
At the launch ceremony, Joe Chan of Qantas said the freighter Boeing B747-400F was able to cater to the needs of forwarders who are seeking to ship oversized cargo or large quantities of a single commodity.
Hung told the Daily that forwarders in Vietnam were able to load their cargo on the passenger planes of Jetstar Airways under Qantas Group which fly between HCMC and Sydney on the other days. From Sydney, the cargo will be transported to the destinations where Qantas is active.
VietNamNet, SGT
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