On May 28, mas Cargo (formerly known as MasAir) made its inaugural flight between Mexico City (MEX) and Zhengzhou/Xinzheng International Airport (CGO) in China, in response to the growing needs of the international cargo market.
Jesús Seade Kuri, Mexico’s Ambassador to China, highlighted that this flight will facilitate and promote trade between Asia and the Americas: “Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport, located in Henan Province, is a strategic hub for handling cargo flights due to its logistical strength and solid capabilities in the sector.”
According to March data released by IATA, Latin American airlines increased their cargo operations by 22% over 2021, making the region the best performing for cargo transportation in the world.
“On the other hand, Mexico City International Airport is the main access point to the large and growing Mexican domestic market and also the gateway to the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean,” Seade Kuri added.
For this initial route in Asia, the Mexican airline will operate for Universal Translink Aviation Transportation Service Co., Ltd (UTA), a company focused on international transportation, container shipping, airfreight services and supply chain solutions.
Frequencies and operations
The cargo exchange between the Americas and Asia will begin with two weekly frequencies and grow to three frequencies per week beginning in July. These flights will be operated with the recently delivered A330-200P2F, with a capacity of 60 tons, which translates into a capacity of more than 18,000 tons per year.
The first flight was performed on the A330 P2F with EI-MAA registration delivered to mas Cargo in April 2022.
Flight M7 3941 departed on May 27 from Mexico City International Airport at 03:25 (local time) for Anchorage (ANC), Alaska. After a two-hour layover it departed at 10:25 to Seoul (ICN), South Korea, on an 8:44 flight. After a 12-hour layover in Korea, his journey ended on May 28 on a 1:45 flight to China.
“With the start of this first operation in China, we expand our global presence, being the first Latin American cargo company to operate in 3 continents. We are deeply grateful to UTA who has been the best promoter of this project,” mentioned Luis Sierra, CEO of mas.
On the other hand, Danny Bo, Founder and President of UTA, said that “since we established a business relationship with mas, the cooperation has been smooth, the service has been excellent, and the communication has been effective. We look forward to having mas as a reliable partner in the coming years.
During the month of July, the airline plans to add a second destination in China, at Chongqing-Jiangbei International Airport, also with 3 flights a week. This will mean a total of 6 more flights per week between Mexico and China, offering a combined capacity of more than seven hundred tons per week between the two countries.
