Taking advantage of a new landmark Air Services Agreement between Singapore and Belgium, Singapore Airlines Cargo has commenced B747-400 weekly freighter services from 1 November, between Brussels and Chicago, and twice weekly circular routings from Brussels to Chicago to Los Angeles and back to Brussels.
The first time a Singapore carrier is utilising Seventh Freedom Traffic Rights, the agreement allows SIA Cargo to operate flights between third countries without originating from, or returning to, Singapore.
"These new Seventh Freedom traffic rights will enable Singapore Airlines Cargo to more effectively serve the Europe-USA freight market," said Goh Choon Phong, president SIA Cargo. "Specifically, we can now operate more frequencies between these markets without having to increase frequenciesbetween Singapore and Europe."
"The adoption of these new liberal agreements is good for the air freight industry, because it allows carriers to match supply of capacity to markets where the demand for exports exists. Airlines can thus be more responsive to the market needs. Moreover, this enables airlines to utilize aircraft resources more efficiently," he added. SIA Cargo now flies to 74 cities in 39 countries.