Changi Airport welcomes Yangtze River Express
SINGAPORE (Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore) - The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) is pleased to welcome Yangtze River Express Airlines as the first freighter airline from China to launch scheduled services at Changi Airport. Singapore is the carrier's first scheduled destination in Southeast Asia.
Yangtze River Express Airlines (YZR) commenced scheduled freighter flights to Singapore from Shanghai via Nanning on 1 November 2005. The Shanghai-based airline operates twelve weekly flights to and from Singapore. YZR's operations from Nanning adds another new Chinese city link, thereby increasing Singapore's air links with China to 18 Chinese cities in total.
At the welcome ceremony held for YZR, CAAS' Deputy Director-General, Mr Ng Wee Hiong said "Air freight volumes between Singapore and China have experienced phenomenal growth. In just 5 years from year 2000 to 2004, freight volumes between both countries grew by over 110% with an average annual growth rate of 21%. The entry of a dedicated Chinese freighter carrier like Yangtze River Express will no doubt contribute even more to the growth of the Singapore-China market".
Mr Zhang Qiang, YZR's Assistant General Manager, concurred with Mr Ng and added that "Yangtze River Express chose to operate from Shanghai to Singapore because our market feasibility studies show a strong demand for air cargo traffic between the two thriving cities. With the concerted effort and cooperation of the relevant authorities in Singapore, we were able to commence flight services within a relatively short period of time. And we are glad that we have done well thus far. Singapore is a very important air cargo distribution centre in the Asia Pacific area and in the world. There will be many opportunities for air cargo cooperation between China and Singapore."
Yangtze River Express was started in 2002 and is a subsidiary of the Hainan Air Group, providing air cargo transportation, express and logistics services.
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