Hong Kong Airlines, a subsidiary of HNA Group, will launch its dedicated all-cargo aircraft service on Tuesday and plans to beef up its freighter fleet by the end of the year to exploit reviving demand for air freight. It will take delivery of three second-hand Boeing 737-300Fs, each capable of carrying 15 tonnes of cargo by March - the first was delivered on January 8 - and two new A330-200Fs, each with a 69 tonne capacity, will arrive in September and October. All the freighters are being bought through its parent Hainan Airlines. HNA Group co-owns Hainan Airlines with billionaire investor George Soros. 'The strong rebound in cargo demand towards the end of 2009 will be followed by a recovery in tonnage in the next two years,' Zi Yin, cargo director of Hong Kong Airlines, said yesterday. It is the second all-cargo set-up by HNA Group after Yangzijiang Express Airlines, a Shanghai-based cargo carrier co-owned by China Airlines and other Taiwanese investors.
