The success of last year’s cooperation agreement with Cainiao Network (“Cainiao”), the logistics arm of Alibaba Group has enabled Saudia Cargo to achieve significant growth in e-commerce shipments this year. The agreement created a thriving ‘sky bridge’ between Asia and Europe, allowing Saudia Cargo to benefit from the opportunities arising from the growing global e-commerce market.

Cainiao joined Saudia Cargo’s flight program in March 2021, linking Hong Kong SAR to Liege Belgium, via Saudia Cargo’s Riyadh hub, with 12 flights operated per week. The freighter flight enables Riyadh to become the model of an effective distribution hub in the Middle East thanks to the strong partnerships that the company has forged with local players.

Vikram Vohra, Saudia Cargo’s Regional Director – Asia Pacific: “The agreement has allowed us to benefit from access to Alibaba’s e-commerce platform as online shopping continues to soar, boosted in part by the Covid-19 pandemic. The partnership with Cainiao, which offers logistic services to more than 200 countries, is central to our growth strategy for this decade and sets the template for future cooperation agreements. Cainiao has become a trusted and valued partner.”

Dandy Zhang, Commercial Director of Global Line Haul, Cainiao’s Cross-border business: “As a global smart logistics company, Cainiao has been consistently enhancing its logistics services and efficiency to satisfy the booming demand for e-commerce in Europe and Middle East. Our partnership with Saudia Cargo has been fruitful, and we look forward to strengthening our cooperation in the long term.”

Saudia Cargo has increased the number of cargo flights it operates to destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe and North America over the past few years to ensure that it continues to meet rising demand for e-commerce and deliver on Saudi Arabia’s ‘Vision 2030’ strategy for growth.

The company has increased its haulage capacity from last year, adding and only improving its space and tonnage capacity to haul e-commerce goods on different routes, that are cared for by highly trained personnel who ensure the safest delivery. The number of flights from the Hong Kong market grew by over 30% alone.

The pandemic revealed the urgent need for cargo services as the e-commerce sector saw a dramatic rise during the pandemic, with a forecast increase of 19% worldwide on e-commerce revenue between pre-and-post COVID-19 timeframes in 2020. Saudia Cargo announced several measures to ensure the continuity of its operations and their increase in flights was part of their services with Cainiao.

This led to not only a stronger and more satisfied partnership, but also helped showcase how effective Saudia Cargo work with their worldwide partners, guaranteeing punctual delivery. The satisfaction of Cainiao with the operations of Saudia Cargo, throughout the past year and despite the struggles of the pandemic, has proven Saudia Cargo to being a trusted and successful partner.