Flexport to charter own weekly freighter from HK to LAX

Flexport to charter own weekly freighter from HK to LAX

The growth in e-commerce and lack of capacity out of Hong Kong (HK) has led to Flexport to charter its own freighter flights from HK to Los Angeles.

The growing freight forwarder say to ease the air cargo capacity shortages, the first of the these flights is a Boeing 747-400 departing on Sunday, 19 November.

It will carry 115 tonnes, or 375 pallets of cargo, from China to the US – a high-volume route where cargo space it says is extremely limited.

Flexport says it is a major launch for the company, which entered the airfreight market in 2014 and it adds chartered freighters will become an ongoing service in 2018, opening up a new revenue stream.

Flexport says this year shippers are facing new challenges to hit holiday delivery schedules and it’s “not looking good for them”.

The forwarder says this is due the exponential growth in e-commerce, and an increase in product launches (such as the iPhone X) and an uptick in flight cancellations have created the “perfect storm for the airfreight market, leading to an unusually high amount of capacity shortages and waiting until room frees up is not an option for most companies.

Picture of James Graham

James Graham

James Graham is an award-winning transport media journalist with a long background in the commercial freight sector, including commercial aviation and the aviation supply chain. He was the initial Air Cargo Week journalist and retuned later for a stint as editor. He continues his association as editor of the monthly supplements. He has reported for the newspaper from global locations as well as the UK.

Newsletter

Stay informed. Stay ahead. To get the latest air cargo news and industry trends delivered directly to your inbox, sign up now!

related articles

Paving the way for a digital revolution

Air cargo rates rise to a 2024 high

Global air cargo demand maintains strong momentum in November