China Southern sets up own cargo carrier

China Southern Airlines (CZ, Guangzhou) has established a new wholly-owned cargo carrier, China Southern Airlines Cargo Co. Ltd t/a China Southern Air Cargo (CZ, Guangzhou), with plans to equip it with a fleet of B777-Fs. An announcement in which the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) gave its official consent to the project said China Southern Air Cargo has a registered capital of CNY1 billion yuan (USD149.39 million), all of which has been fully funded by China Southern Airlines. Of the amount, CNY400 million (USD59.75 million) is in cash with the remainder to come via asset transfer. China Southern Airlines intends to shift 30 flight personnel, nine maintenance engineers, and 10 dispatch personnel to its subsidiary. Thereafter, China Southern Air Cargo will also use Guangzhou as its main hub as well as its parent’s CZ code, its logo and livery, its aircraft, and its take-off and landing slots. However, once on its own two feet, the cargo carrier will apply for its own route authorities and slots. According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, China Southern Airlines’ dedicated freighter fleet currently entails fourteen B777-200Fs and two B747-400(FSCD)s. It also makes use of the bellyhold resources available on the more than 700 passenger planes China Southern and its various subsidiaries operate.