China approves Cathay freighter service to Beijing

China approves Cathay freighter service to Beijing    Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways will next month add Beijing to its freighter network after gaining approval from the Chinese government.
   The twice-weekly Hong Kong/Beijing service will start Nov. 15 using a Boeing 747-200 Freighter aircraft.
   Flights will operate every Wednesday and Thursday from Hong Kong International Airport to Capital International Airport in Beijing, departing at 11 p.m. and arriving the following morning at 2:05 a.m. The return flight departs Beijing at 4:05 a.m. on Thursday and Friday, arriving in Hong Kong at 7:35 a.m.
   The airline said it expects the major shipments from Hong Kong to Beijing to be electronics and computers parts, for final assembly in the capital, along with garments. Out of Beijing, finished electronics and computer goods bound for Taiwan, the United States and Europe will fill up much of the freighter space, Cathay said.
   “The addition of Beijing to our freighter network will open up new opportunities for shippers in the north of China and strengthen Hong Kong’s position as the leading air cargo hub in Asia,” said Ron Mathison, Cathay’s director and general manager cargo.
   Beijing will become the 29th destination in Cathay Pacific’s freighter network, following the addition earlier this year of Chennai in India; Stockholm, Sweden; and Toronto in Canada.