On January 10th, AirBridgeCargo operated its first scheduled freighter flight to Chengdu International airport (CTU). The service operated by B747-400 freighter has added Chengdu -- the capital of Sichuan province in Western China -- to the existing service of ABC between Zhengzhou (CGO), Moscow, and Amsterdam (AMS) launched earlier in September 2010.

Chengdu is not a new destination for Volga-Dnepr Group and AirBridgeCargo. Many charter flights with unique cargoes have been operated to this airport by Volga-Dnepr's An-124 aircraft. A number of emergency flights by both An-124 of Volga-Dnepr and B747 of ABC freighters have been operated to Chengdu in May 2008, delivering relief goods, medical and rescue equipment to the region hit by a devastating earthquake. From now on the freighter service will be provided on scheduled basis.

The new routing will operate 4 times per week, connecting Chengdu directly with Moscow, Amsterdam, and ABC's many other online network destinations in Europe.

The service will undoubtedly benefit the local export manufacturing and freight forwarding communities. Exporters since long have been interested in reliable and dedicated freighter solution for their products, especially for those time- and security-sensitive commodities of high-tech industry for which Chengdu is particularly known. As a fast developing consumer market Chengdu will also take advantage of direct flights from Europe delivering high-end consumer products.

With already strong presence in China's traditional air freight markets of Shanghai, Hong Kong, Beijing, and Zhengzhou, AirBridgeCargo continues expanding its service coverage to inland China regions which are energetically catching up with the developed coastal areas of the country.

Contributed by AirBridgeCargo