China continues to up its international air freight offering as Uni-Top Airlines announces plans for flights to the US. An application for three weekly flights from Wuhan has been received by the US Department of Transportation, according to reports by CH-Aviation.
It’s probably an unfamiliar name to most, but Uni-Top Airlines is China’s largest private international air freight operator. Its parent company and namesake, Shenzhen-based Uni-Top Industrial Corporation, offers a range of air, sea and land freight-forwarding services.
Uni-Top Airlines has enjoyed a steady rise to its current standing. Although still very small in comparison to other international freight operators, it was founded just 10 years ago and operated its first flight in 2011.
With its new plans to fly direct to the US, Uni-Top Airlines appears to be starting an important new leg of expansion.
Uni-Top's Fleet
With six in-service aircraft, the Airbus A300-600 (RF/FR) makes up the bulk of Uni-Top’s fleet. The majority of these are ex-China Eastern Airlines stock, which entered service in the early-to-mid 90s.
The most recent of these, an A300-600F, was delivered just last year after undergoing a passenger-to-freight conversion in Dresden, Germany.
Alongside its A300s, the airline also operates one wet-leased and two of its own Boeing 747-400(F)s. But this small fleet is by no means complete. By 2023 the airline plans to have a total of 34 aircraft in operation; 10 long haul and 24 medium-range freighters.
In an interview with CargoFacts back in 2016, Uni-Top Airlines’ Vice President Huang Yu described the carrier’s plans to strike a “balance between the international, regional and local market”.
Three years later and these plans appear to be taking off with the announcement of the proposed China-US routes.
Uni-Top's routes
Uni-Top is focusing on international freight routes as the domestic air freight market is highly saturated.
According to CH-Aviation Uni-Top Airlines’ application for flights to the US details three weekly flights from Wuhan to Chicago O’Hare via Anchorage Ted Stevens Airport. The route would be flown using a Boeing 747-400(F).
This foray into North America would add to Uni-Top Airlines’ growing list of international destinations, which currently includes Dubai, Bangladesh, Malaysia, India, Japan, Belgium and Luxembourg.
Uni-Top operates flights to four different cities in India; Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai, marking a significant presence on the sub-continent.
Further afield, Luxembourg is currently the home of the carrier’s European headquarters. Uni-Top uses the Luxembourg-based carrier Luxair’s Cargocenter as a base for freight-forwarding operations across the continent. The partnership with Luxair gives Uni-Top access to the European market via a major continental transit hub.
Uni-Top also has an impressive list of clients, including Lenovo, Huawei, Foxconn, Dell and HP. Considering the ambitious plans the airline has for both route and fleet expansion, it looks like Uni-Top Airlines may be a more familiar name in five years' time.
Uni-Top Airlines was not available for comment regarding its expansion plans.