Air China Cargo To Begin Direct Service Between DFW And Beijing

DFW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (June 1, 2006) - Air China Cargo will begin new service between DFW International Airport and Beijing on June 17 with three weekly flights on Boeing 747 freighters. Based in Beijing, Air China Cargo and its new service will complement robust service to China already at DFW, and will bring more than $10 million dollars annually in economic impact to North Texas.

“This is another outstanding addition to the DFW cargo portfolio and to the North Texas economy,” said Joe Lopano, executive vice president for marketing and terminal management at DFW. “DFW is continuously working to show both passenger and cargo airlines the value of the North Texas market. We have been fortunate to work with Air China Cargo, which was open to expansion and realized the great business climate here in our region.” 

Air China Cargo’s entry into the DFW market will boost the Airport to a total of 38 cargo flights from Asia every week. Air China Cargo currently services Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Oregon, Chicago and New York (JFK) in the U.S.

"Air China Cargo's new freighter flights to DFW open up the South of the United States to our clients and improve our service to our shippers, delivering access to new markets and dramatically cutting our delivery times," said Mr. Li Gengchen of Air China Cargo. "We see a great opportunity to get our products straight to the manufacturing and distribution points in the southern United States. DFW's prime location to 22 Fortune 500 companies just minutes from the Airport and the region’s known strength in the high tech industry were driving factors for Air China Cargo's decision to come to North Texas." 

The new Air China Cargo service is a great example of the value placed on reaching the mid-continent and southern portions of the United States by the international cargo market. DFW’s current cargo carriers increased their service to Asia by 6.7 percent in 2005. DFW is a major gateway for international cargo and shipped nearly 176,000 tons of Asian freight in 2005. Freight carried on DFW’s Asian freighters represented over 63 percent of the Airport’s total international cargo.

“Air China Cargo is a great new partner for North Texas and brings with it $10.5 million of annual economic impact to the region,” said Bill Frainey, assistant vice president of marketing at DFW. “The new jobs and added availability of direct cargo service to China will stimulate the market and make DFW an even more strategic cargo market.” 

The majority of DFW’s cargo exports will be capital goods. Imports into DFW will consist primarily of industrial goods, high-technology equipment, apparel, and consumer electronics.

China, and in particular Beijing, is a vitally important market for DFW because of its relatively untapped potential in the United States. In 2005, China accounted for more than 66,000 tons of air cargo into the Dallas/Fort Worth customs district. China is DFW’s largest air cargo trading partner, and the market has shown historic growth of 34.3 percent annually since 1996. 

Other carriers flying freighters to Asian destinations from DFW include Singapore Airlines, Korean Air Lines, Cathay Pacific Airlines, China Airlines, China Cargo Airlines and EVA Air.

DFW in March 2006 was rated Best Cargo Airport in the World by a customer survey conducted by Air Cargo World magazine, and it was named Cargo Airport of the Year (+500,000 metric tones) by Air Cargo News in April 2006.