China Postal plans near-sixfold expansion of air-freighter fleet

China Postal Airlines, the express courier division of China Post, has confirmed plans for an almost sixfold increase in its air-freighter fleet as it targets expansion of domestic and international operations.

Li Yufeng, the airline's general manager, said the carrier aims to expand its current fleet of 16 cargo aircraft freighters to 46 aircraft by 2014 and 90 by 2019. The airline, which was set up as a 51-49 per cent joint venture between the mainland Postal Bureau and China Southern Airlines, provides freighter capacity for China Courier Service's express mail service (EMS).

Li said the expansion was needed to cope with the growth in volume of EMS business which was expanding by around 24 per cent a year.

Commenting on that growth, Wang Xiangping, executive vice-president of GCW Consulting, expressed the hope that China Postal Airlines 'becomes China's FedEx'.

Li said the airline's EMS freight volumes were expected to top 400,000 tonnes by 2014 and 980,000 tonnes by 2019. To meet this increase the airline planned to have 52 bases and Boeing 737, 757 and 767 aircraft by the end of the 13th five-year plan.

He gave no detailed breakdown of the planned fleet composition, but the airline's existing fleet comprises 16 Boeing 737 freighters which can carry around 20 tonnes and were all converted from their original passenger configuration.

Li said the biggest challenge facing the airline was having the volume of business to justify the fleet expansion. But he said the move to expand to 90 aircraft showed its confidence in the market, although he conceded fleet growth 'may be adjusted depending on the market situation'.