St Louis signs MoU, China Eastern begin air cargo talks

SWISS forwarding giant Kuehne + Nagel is to expand its European overland network and introduce its "KN Euro-Line" product to 200 more scheduled international lines with departures doubling to 2,000 per week.


ST LOUIS' three-year pursuit of a China-based international air cargo hub looks more certain as Chinese government officials sign a Memorandum of Understanding with its state governor and the city's mayor.


Although a final deal is yet to be made, said Mayor Francis Slay, talks will look at using its Lambert-St Louis Airport as a cargo hub, rather than its competitor MidAmerica St Louis Airport, 25 miles away across the Mississippi River state line in Illinois.


The delegation from Shanghai met with Governor Jay Nixon, County Executive Charlie Dooley and Mayor Slay to discuss the use of large freighters on international cargo flights with a China airline.


China Eastern will enter negotiations for regular scheduled flights to launch the first half of the year said Midwest China Hub Commission chairman Mike Jones in a report from St Louis Post-Dispatch.


The result coincided with the four-day state visit from China's President Hu Jintao to US President Barack Obama to discuss trade links between the US and China with several agreements made. These including an export deal worth US$45 billion, including $19 billion for the purchase of 200 aircraft from Boeing over a three-year period.
(Source:http://www.schednet.com)