International Airfreight Industry – Where is the hottest spot?!

It is fresh circumstance in our memory that Haneda airport became international in 2010.

Today, 4 years passed after that, the volume of international air freight is growing due to increasing of international flights.

Also because Haneda airport is closer to the city center than Narita airport, it can be considered that the benefit of convenience and time reduction helps the increase of international air freight volume.

The Benefit of Internationalizing of Haneda

Internationalizing Haneda airport had a great benefit for industries of international air freight and consumers. As several forwarders built offices in Haneda international cargo area, customer clearance time has dramatically reduced.

Also delivery time has been cut according to the location environment close to the metropolitan area, which is Haneda airport. And also comparing to Narita, as the delivery fee is lower there was a lot of benefit received on the time and costings.

Sagawa Express Holdings, for example, is reportedly applying for bonded warehousing. If this application were accepted, overseas online retailing would become more familiar presence of ours, as overseas cargo operation could be done at foreign currency in the bonded warehouse.

The Benefit of Internationalizing of Haneda

Though international air freight industry has such a bright prospect, do you know that actually the hub which attracts attention most now is not Haneda airport? 

What is featured place now?!

Kansai international airport where “Fedex”, foreign major company, started to constructed last year?  No, it is not. The fact that the hub attracting attention most now is, Okinawa airport. 

Why Okinawa?

The reason is because of its location. Okinawa has numbers of major Asia cities within the range of 4 hours by air. For example, the coast of China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Philippines are the ones. 

A short flight time means that there are a lot of benefits such as cost reduction of round trip fuel, or efficient flight operation.

Okinawa Hub and Yamato Holdings

There might be quite a few of those confusing if Okinawa airport has originally been a hub airport. Though it is not actually a hub airport, there is Okinawa hub of ANA (All Nippon Airways) subordinated to ANA Holdings.

Yamato Holdings are also targeting Asian market and promoting this by collaborating with ANA. Using Okinawa hub, it’s possible to deliver not only to Japanese market but also to overseas market (mainly Asia) in a day as the same as delivering inside of Japan.

That’s not all. International Cool Express (“Cool Takkyubin”), which delivers Japanese fresh food been child, has been implemented since 2013. This is also surprising that it can deliver by next day.

Future Direction of International Air Freight Industry

It is well known that directly linking producing district and consumer due to the expansion of the Internet though, it might be considered that the day to link Japanese producing district and overseas consumer directly will be not so distant future.

At present, LCC only concerns with domestic air freight, it will enter the international freight as well in the future. Then when it happens, international air freight industry will be activated more than ever before in a good sense.