ALL Nippon Air (ANA), Japan's second largest domestic and international airline, has added a cargo venture to capitalise on rising trade in Asian countries, reports Bloomberg.
The Tokyo-based regional airline will take 34 per cent stake in the new company and Japan's biggest air forwarders' Nippon Express (NE) and Kintetsu World Express (KWE) will take 28 per cent each, with the remaining to be held by as yet unnamed Japanese forwarders.
From April of next year, the new company aims to more than double its four-plane cargo fleet in two years to compete with top rival Japan Airlines Corporation (JAC). To expand its international cargo operation ANA is due to outsource some operations and increase the number of its aircraft.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported a four per cent rise in global air cargo in the first 10 months of this year.
Japan's big airfreight forwarders NE and KWE will co-operate on international shipments and are also in talks with JAC. They compete with DHL Worldwide Express, FedEx and United Parcel Service.
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