FedEx Express is looking to support further trade in Asia Pacific and provide air freight capacity for exporters in Southeast Asia with four new intercontinental flights connecing the trans-Pacific, north Asia, and Europe trade lanes.

The express operator will launch two trans-Pacific flights originating from its Guangzhou hub in southern China five, operating five times a week. One of the flights will fly to Oakland via Anchorage, whilst the other will continue from Anchorage to Indianapolis and Memphis before returning to Guangzhou via Anchorage and Incheon.

A third charter flight will connect Beijing to its Memphis hub via its regional hub in Osaka and Anchorage. The new intercontinental services will provide six extra connections to the US from China each week with weekly capacity of around 1,400 tonnes.

For exports to Europe, FedEx will operate Boeing 777 flights from Guangzhou to its hub at Charles de Gaulle (CDG) in Paris twice a week, and from Osaka thrice a week.

FedEx said the move to launch new cargo charter flights to US and Europe comes amidst growing demand for ecommerce products, with exports in Asia Pacific forecast to rebound 13 percent year-on-year in 2021. Exports from China jumped 32.3 percent in May according to Bloomberg, with Japan and Korea posting similar growth. Thailand (43.8 percent) and Singapore (28 percent) recorded remarkable export growth in June, suggesting economic rebound in the region to pre-pandemic levels.

“Our new offerings are testament to the potential that Southeast Asia holds to drive exports within Asia and to markets in Europe and the US,” said Audrey Cheong, regional vice president for Fedex Southeast Asia.

“With these new flights, we can look forward to supporting the growth of the region’s cross-border trade and support our SME customers in their recovery.”