SF Airlines expects to increase its fleet to over 60 freighters in 2020

SF Airlines expects to increase its fleet to over 60 freighters during 2020, having reached 58 aircraft only last month. In addition to its fleet growth, the airline subsidiary of Chinese express delivery giant SF Express, is planning to increase its global network of destinations to more than 70 from the 65 it currently serves.

“China’s air cargo market is embracing greater opportunities and challenges alongside the advance of the Belt and Road Initiative and higher demands in the global logistics system from all sectors,” said Liddel Li, SF Airlines President told the Xinhua news agency.

On December 6, 2019, also the 10th anniversary of the establishment of SF Airlines, a Boeing 757-200(ET)(PCF) B-20CX (msn 29944) arrived at Shenzhen, bringing the carrier’s tally of aircraft to 58. Having reached a fleet size of 50 on December 21, 2018, the aircraft became the eighth introduced by SF Airlines during 2019.

Since its inception in 2009, its fleet has carried more than 2.5 million tonnes of air cargo in around 330,000 flight hours worldwide and its network now covers China, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and Europe. Last month it received approval from the US Department for Transportation to conduct flights between any point in China and any point in the US and plans to launch a 3x weekly service from Hangzhou to New York JFK.

On September 15, 2019, SF Airlines began its first operation to Europe, as it started a service to Frankfurt Hahn from Wuxi via Chongqing.