The Air France-KLM Group will redeploy Boeing 747-400 freighters from Latin America to support the launch of service between Amsterdam and Hong Kong in September, in response to strong demand for shipments from e-commerce retailers.
The new service is scheduled to begin on September 19 and will be operated by subsidiary Martinair Cargo with a stopover in Dubai, a major crossroads for international trade. It will be the first time in nine years that KLM/Martinair freighters will fly regularly to Hong Kong, the group announced on Monday.
Martinair will initially operate flights three times a week, which will be increased to four times a week from the start of the winter schedule on October 27. The Boeing 747-400 freighters have a maximum payload of 120 tonnes.
The Dutch Martinair operates four Boeing 747-400 aircraft, including three from KLM.
The Hong Kong freighter route will significantly increase Air France-KLM’s capacity in the important Asian market. Air France currently operates several weekly flights from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport to Beijing and Mumbai, India, with two Boeing 777-200 freighters. The sister airlines also operate numerous widebody passenger aircraft that carry large amounts of cargo on the lower deck.
Air France-KLM said it will suspend several Latin American cargo routes to free up aircraft for Hong Kong-Dubai service. Destinations being cut in September include Campinas, Brazil; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Santiago, Chile; Lima, Peru; Quito, Ecuador; and Guatemala City, spokesman Gerard Roelfzema said.
The airline will continue to operate a 747 freighter service to Bogota, Colombia, via Miami three times a week.
“In the East Asian market, the e-commerce segment is growing steadily, driving demand for efficient and reliable air cargo solutions. The introduction of this new Boeing 747 freighter service is a crucial step in adding main deck capacity to our extensive belly network,” said Adriaan den Heijer, executive vice president cargo at Air France-KLM and managing director of Martinair, in a press release. “This expansion not only strengthens our freighter footprint in Asia, but also offers our customers more options and greater flexibility.”
E-commerce is one of the main drivers of global air cargo demand growing 12.5% annually compared to the same period in 2023. Online shopping platforms, mainly in China, account for more than 11,000 tons of goods transported by air each day — equivalent to the capacity of 100 777 freighters, Boeing said this month in its 20-year commercial outlook.
Logistics providers and analysts say widebody freighter capacity is tight on key trade routes out of China as e-tailers book large amounts of available space. Taiwanese freight forwarder Dimerco estimates that 70% of air exports from Hong Kong and half of the volumes flown out of Shanghai are small packages.
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