New all-cargo carrier in China

Ningxia Cargo Airlines received preliminary approval from the Civil Aviation Administration of China to conduct operations from its base at Yinchuan Hedong Airport (INC) in the Ningxia Autonomous Region, 900 km west of Beijing.

Ningxia Cargo, which will be licensed for domestic operation in China, including Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, has purchased three 737-300Fs (27518, 27372, 25891) from Zhejiang Loong Airlineshas, and has already begun hiring pilots, dispatchers, and maintenance staff.

It has registered capital of 120 million yuan (US$19.4 million) and is majority-owned by Shan’xi Tongyang Investment Management (53%). Xi’an Huijie Logistics Co. has a 44% stake, and the remaining 3% is split among Shannxi Xiangyu Logistics Co., Shanghai Chongda International Freight Co. and Shanxi International Air Freight. Shen Huawei, formerly the General Manager of Shannxi International Freight, will be President.

Ningxia is not a major manufacturing region. It has the third-smallest GDP of all the Chinese provinces, and yet at the same time has relatively high labor costs. Its economy is based largely on agriculture, although it does have some heavy industry. Interestingly, it is becoming known as a wine-producing region.

Zhejiang Loong Airlines, which began life as an all-cargo carrier under the name CDI Cargo, will exit freighter operation entirely and continue as a passenger carrier with a small, but rapidly expanding, A320 fleet.