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Shanghai becoming too hot for carriers - report
SHANGHAI, Apr 8 (WorldACD) - Freighter operators, who flocked to China in recent years, are less sanguine at the moment, thanks to yield erosion that has turned the previous bonanza into a challenging market, CargoNews Asia reported.
Delta, which started daily flights from its Atlanta hub to Shanghai with B777 aircraft on March 30, described the new route as highly promising from a cargo perspective, and American Airlines, intends to launch flights between Chicago and Beijing next year.
However, some carriers have cancelled routes, such as Korean Air's freighter to Chengdu, but none has gone as far as Air Canada, which terminated its freighter flights between Shanghai and its home market last spring.
Reto Hunziker, executive vice-president of Lufthansa Cargo sales and marketing, predicted a tough year for carriers out of Asia in 2008 and cited three factors - the weak US economy affecting US-bound traffic, a recent slowdown in the growth rate of Chinese exports and overcapacity in the market, notably in Shanghai.
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