Kargo Xpress to partner with e-commerce giants Alibaba, Lazada

Malaysia-based cargo airline Kargo Xpress is close to inking deals with several e-commerce giants, including Alibaba and Lazada, to help develop Kuala Lumpur (KUL) as a major transit point for e-commerce business to and from China. [caption id="attachment_96328" align="alignright" width="364"] Photo: Kargo Xpress[/caption] At least one of the deals is “written in stone,” Rishwan Rajendran, manager of network and scheduling at Kargo Xpress, told Air Cargo World . Final approvals, including a start date, are the only items left, he added. “The e-commerce market in China is growing, so we look to capitalize on that,” said Rajendran. “Our business partnership with the e-commerce giants will enable us to set foot into a largely untapped market which is dominated by foreign carriers at the moment.” Kargo Xpress is affiliated with passenger charter operator M Jets International, whose parent company, MMAG Holdings Berhad, acquired its 80% stake in July, Rajendran said. In June, the carrier started conducting daily flights from its hub at KUL to Kuching (KCH) and Kota Kinabalu (BKI) in Malaysia, using a 737-400F, which was received in February, said Rajendran. He further noted that the carrier is in the process of obtaining approval to conduct international operations that would target Indonesia, the Philippines, China and Hong Kong as key destinations. In terms of fleet expansions, Rajendran added that Kargo Xpress expects to receive seven more aircraft by the end of 2022 . The carrier received its air operator certificate in June, and is based at KUL, where it currently occupies 270,000 square feet of warehouse space leased from Alibaba. The warehouse may be fully operational by the end of August; in the meantime, Kargo Xpress is applying to get its own ground handling license, which will allow the carrier to do its own handling and third-party handling as well, said Rajendran. Considering that Malaysian courier company Line Clear Express is also a subsidiary of MMAG Holdings Berhad, the cargo carrier envisions itself as a complete logistics solution provider. “MMAG and Kargo Xpress, in a sense, [is] a fully integrated logistics provider,” said Rajendran. “We have warehousing, we have first-, middle- and last-mile delivery, we have ground handling logistic movements ... And we are further looking into doing third-party handling.” Despite the advances into China’s e-commerce market, Kargo Xpress is not focusing on purely transporting e-commerce shipments. In addition to general cargo, the carrier also transports perishables like seafood, and is an approved carrier for dangerous goods, said Rajendran. Kargo Xpress is not the only Malaysian cargo carrier looking to tap into the region’s growing e-commerce demand . Last month, Raya Airways launched a four-times-weekly flight between Kuala Lumpur (SZB) and Nanning (NNG), China, and recently signed a long-term charter agreement with an international logistics company to help serve Hong Kong’s rapidly growing e-commerce and express delivery market .

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