Turkish Cargo starts twice weekly Hong Kong-Istanbul service

TURKISH CARGO, the air freight service of Turkish Airlines, has launched of its new, twice weekly freighter service between Hong Kong and Istanbul, adding two new A330-200F freighters to the fleet and enabling Asian shippers to reach 168 destinations worldwide via Istanbul.

Turkish Cargo is one of the few carriers that have grown during the global downturn, achieving an increase of 60 per cent in cargo revenue and 42 per cent in tonnage carried over the last eight months.

"Hong Kong, being the second-largest cargo hub in the world, is a very important market for us. The expansion of Turkish Cargo will further enhance our local presence and penetration into the Asia-Pacific market," said Huseyin Ceyhan, director of Turkish Airlines in Hong Kong.

Given the unique geographical position of Istanbul, almost 50 countries can be reached within a two-to-three hours. Turkish Cargo's vast network also reaches many destinations less frequented by most other airlines, such as Tbilisi, Damascus and Maastricht, said a company statement.

"Despite the recent downturn, we continue to observe steady demand for cargo transport from Hong Kong, which posted an 8.27 per cent growth in local cargo export over the first two quarters of this year," said Abdullah Soner Akkurt, senior vice president of Turkish Cargo.
(Source:www.schednet.com)