Saudia Cargo and Cainiao’s partnership solidifies

May 2, 2022

The success of last year’s co-operation agreement with Cainiao Network, the
logistics arm of Alibaba Group. has enabled Saudia Cargo to achieve significant growth in e-commerce shipments this year. The agreement created a thriving ‘sky bridge’ between Asia and Europe, allowing Saudia Cargo to benefit from the opportunities arising from the growing global e-Commerce market.

Cainiao joined Saudia Cargo’s flight program in March 2021, linking Hong Kong SAR to Liege Belgium, via Saudia Cargo’s Riyadh hub, with 12 flights operated per week. The freighter flight enables Riyadh to become the model of an effective distribution hub in the Middle East thanks to the strong partnerships that the company has forged with local players.

Vikram Vohra, Saudia Cargo’s regional director – Asia Pacific, said: “The agreement has allowed us to benefit from access to Alibaba’s e-commerce platform as online shopping continues to soar, boosted in part by the Covid-19 pandemic. The partnership with Cainiao, which offers logistic services to more than 200 countries, is central to our growth strategy for this decade and sets the template for future co-operation agreements. Cainiao has become a trusted and valued partner.”

Dandy Zhang, commercial director of global line haul, Cainiao’s Cross-border business said: “As a global smart logistics company, Cainiao has been consistently enhancing its logistics services and efficiency to satisfy the booming demand for e-commerce in Europe and Middle East. Our partnership with Saudia Cargo has been fruitful, and we look forward to strengthening our cooperation in the long term.”

Saudia Cargo has increased the number of cargo flights it operates to destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe and North America over the past few years to ensure that it continues to meet rising demand for e-Commerce and deliver on Saudi Arabia’s ‘Vision 2030’ strategy for growth.

The company has increased its haulage capacity from last year, adding and only improving its space and tonnage capacity to haul e-commerce goods on different routes, that are cared for by highly trained

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.