Tianjin Airlines launches air-truck intermodal cargo service to Beijing

TIANJIN Airlines inaugurated an air-truck intermodal cargo service to Beijing on November 1, Xinhua reports.

Transshipments from all parts of China can now fly to Tianjin on Tianjin Airlines' services and be taken to Beijing by trucks the same day, while those bound from Beijing to the rest of China move the same way in the opposite direction.

In May 2011, Tianjin Airlines launched the first air-rail intermodal passenger service to Beijing. Passengers can travel free on the Tianjin-Beijing intercity high-speed railway service, shuttle bus included from the railway station to Tianjin Binhai International Airport.

A year later, Tianjin Airlines expand the service to the cargo business. Shippers only need to fill in a transshipment form at Tianjin Airlines' cargo office before their goods can be transported by air to Tianjin then by trucks to Beijing. Consignees can collect cargo at a pick-up point in Beijing the next day.

Tianjin Air Cargo Terminal manager Ma Dongqing said the new service aims to meet the growing demand of moving cargo between Tianjin and Beijing. It is also a step towards Tianjin Airlines' strategy of conventional air transportation to air-ground intermodal service.

Mr Ma also noted that the service will help greatly to relieve the heavy pressure on Beijing Capital Airport's cargo capacity.