THE increasing number of air passenger services between China and Europe is likely to have a negative impact on air freight rates, reports London's Loadstar.
This is because the air freight industry already has excess belly capacity due to low demand.
In the UK, there has been a significant surge in these services in the past six months, with the number of weekly flights from China to Heathrow increasing by a factor of 10, from five to 54.
While passengers and shippers benefit from the increased capacity, forwarders are raising concerns about how carriers will utilise the additional space for air freight.
'Looking at the Chinese market and the new capacity that has already arrived and the additional capacity due, you have to ask what the cargo teams will stick in it? Outbound, it'll be e-commerce, but inbound, who knows?' said a forwarder.
'You also have to remember that China operates pop-up airlines to coincide with certain pockets of demand, like students needing flights to overseas universities.'
According to Heathrow Airport, most carriers have resumed their pre-pandemic services, while some plan to increase their frequencies in the coming months.
This trend is not unique to London, as Manchester has also announced a return to pre-pandemic service levels from Hainan Airlines.
The increase in passenger services and belly capacity has led to doubts about the wisdom of airlines investing in full-freighter aircraft, especially as global passenger demand is expected to grow significantly.
SeaNews Turkey
This is because the air freight industry already has excess belly capacity due to low demand.
In the UK, there has been a significant surge in these services in the past six months, with the number of weekly flights from China to Heathrow increasing by a factor of 10, from five to 54.
While passengers and shippers benefit from the increased capacity, forwarders are raising concerns about how carriers will utilise the additional space for air freight.
'Looking at the Chinese market and the new capacity that has already arrived and the additional capacity due, you have to ask what the cargo teams will stick in it? Outbound, it'll be e-commerce, but inbound, who knows?' said a forwarder.
'You also have to remember that China operates pop-up airlines to coincide with certain pockets of demand, like students needing flights to overseas universities.'
According to Heathrow Airport, most carriers have resumed their pre-pandemic services, while some plan to increase their frequencies in the coming months.
This trend is not unique to London, as Manchester has also announced a return to pre-pandemic service levels from Hainan Airlines.
The increase in passenger services and belly capacity has led to doubts about the wisdom of airlines investing in full-freighter aircraft, especially as global passenger demand is expected to grow significantly.
SeaNews Turkey