Alibaba Group’s logistics arm Cainiao Network is adding new Boeing 757-200 cargo planes to match the surge in cross-border deliveries starting August, announced a press release. This will add to the more than 10 cargo aircraft it uses for parcels bound to Russia. 

Cainiao said the new fleet will transport AliExpress orders from Chinese online sellers to Russia. With more than 20 weekly flights to Moscow, Novosibirsk, and Alibaba hubs in Europe, the company plans to add routes to Yekaterinburg and Kazan. 

“Our investments in one of the largest markets are not only investments into infrastructure, localisation of our IT platform and support of Russian sellers, but also broad investments into the development of new air routes. Our nearest plans include launching permanent routes to new cities: Yekaterinburg and Kazan. Our task is to bring the average delivery time of a parcel to the largest cities to 10 days within the next year. And we will continue to expand cooperation with partners in Russia and replenish the aircraft fleet,” said Vyacheslav Savin, general director of Cainiao in Russia.

Between May and June, total parcel volume to Russia jumped nearly 30% compared to the same period last year. In the first five months from the onset of the pandemic to lockdown containment, Cainiao recorded double each order’s average weight, and total freight traffic surged more than 60% compared to the same period last year. 

Cainia’s cross-border cargo operations deliver an average daily volume of about 2 million shipments, of which more than 25% are bound to Russia, the company said. It operates cargo flights in partnership with Indonesia’s Aviastar-TU and Volga-Dnepr Group’s ATRAN airlines.