This week, Virgin Atlantic Cargo re-launched its Sydney-Hong Kong service ahead of schedule, following the airline\u2019s three year hiatus. The carrier points to a \u201cshift in the market\u201d since 2014 \u2013 specifically, the growth of online shopping \u2013 as the main reason for the resumption of service.<\/p>\n
\u201cSydney-Hong Kong is a route we know very well,\u201d said the cargo division\u2019s managing director, Dominic Kennedy. \u201cThe launch of this important new route is coming at a prime time for air cargo capacity demand to and from Australia,\u201d which will allow for 15 to 20 tonnes of cargo capacity per flight in the belly of Virgin Australia\u2019s new A330 aircraft.<\/p>\n
Trade between the two nations has also been encouraged by the lucrative China-Australia Free Trade<\/p>\n
Agreement (ChAFTA), signed in June 2015. The deal made 85 percent of Australian exports to China tariff-free \u2013 a figure the nations\u2019 governments say will rise to 95 percent in the next decade.<\/p>\n
The demand for e-commerce products between the two nations \u201cgenerates high volumes in both directions,\u201d said Kennedy, with Chinese consumers increasingly making purchases via apps like Alibaba\u2019s e-commerce platform, which serves as a market for everything from electronics to lobster to milk powder.<\/p>\n
In 2018, Virgin Atlantic Cargo increased its route frequencies, in March, increasing its London-Johannesburg route from one to two frequencies per day, and adding a new Belfast-Orlando service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This week, Virgin Atlantic Cargo re-launched its Sydney … <\/p>\n