Cainiao joins Russian partner for new route to Europe
Alibaba's logistics arm Cainiao Network said it will partner with Russia-headquartered Volga-Dnepr Group to open a new China-Spain trade route next month to serve a cross-border delivery boom.
Cainiao's existing international routes connect various Chinese cities with Moscow, Liege, Riga, Kuala Lumpur, New York, Madrid, Sao Paulo and Santiago.
Three weekly Hong Kong-Madrid flights will be operated by AirBridgeCargo Airlines under the Volga-Dnepr Group via Liege, Belgium. They are expected to accelerate the delivery time of merchandise from China to Europe by 30 percent.
"We will further support Cainiao to accommodate the skyrocketing e-commerce volumes, and in the first five months e-commerce delivery volumes tripled within the Volga-Dnepr Group to surpass the 20,000-ton mark,” Executive Operating Officer of VDG Tatyana Arslanova said in a statement.
Cainiao aims to add 1,000 additional charter flights by the end of this year to step up delivery infrastructure investment. The company's goal is to reduce average air-freight delivery times to European destinations to three to five days, down from the current seven to 10.
