Shanghai Airlines set to start new China/U.S. cargo services

Shanghai Airlines set to start new China/U.S. cargo services Chinese airline Shanghai Airlines Co. Ltd. has applied for two new air freight services, a Shanghai/Anchorage/Chicago route to begin in August and a Shanghai/Anchorage/Los Angeles/Dallas route to begin in December, the Civil Aviation Administration of China reported last week.
   'We will fly in the name of Shanghai Airlines,” said Lu Yuan, chief pilot of Shanghai Airlines' cargo division. 'The airline got the traffic rights, according to an aviation agreement inked between China and the United States in 2004.'
   Shanghai Airlines, formed in 1985, accepted an invitation last year to join the 17-member Star Alliance, one of the largest aviation alliances in the world.
   Shanghai Airlines Cargo expects to utilize all-cargo Boeing 747 Freighter or MD-11F aircrafts on the two routes, and run three flights a week. The firm has two all-cargo B-747F aircrafts, two all-cargo MD-11F aircrafts, and one all-cargo B-747 aircraft, and accounted for 11 percent of the total air freight transport capacity of Shanghai.
   With registered capital of $16 million, Shanghai Airlines Cargo is a joint venture among Shanghai Airlines, Samoa-based Sino Prime Ltd., and Juniper Estate BV, registered in the Netherlands. Shanghai Airlines holds a 55 percent stake in venture, Sino Prime 25 percent, and Juniper Estate the remaining 20 percent.