In response to surging demand for air cargo capacity in the region, GEODIS, a global leading transport and logistics services provider, has significantly expanded its AirDirect own operated network with three more intra-Asia Pacific (APAC) flight routes. With a newly established hub in Kuala Lumpur, the logistics operator will dovetail the air services with its Road Network linking destinations throughout Southeast Asia. The multi-modal expansion builds on its strong momentum in creating diverse transportation options for customizing supply chain solutions for its customers.

The expanded flight network, which bridges Hong Kong, Chennai, Sydney, and Shanghai to Kuala Lumpur, can carry an additional 320 tons of cargo weekly. This will significantly ease the strain on the supply chains, which saw load factors and yields reach historic highs in 2021 when cargo capacity struggled to meet the surge in e-commerce transactions. With demand for airfreight forecast to increase, particularly amidst ongoing delays and flight cancellations across Southeast Asia following the impact of the Omicron variant, GEODIS believes its extended AirDirect schedules will become a pivotal component in ensuring seamless, reliable, and efficient air transport services in the region.

The new flights will enable consolidated shipments across Asia including goods from key manufacturing sites in China, Malaysia, and Vietnam to transit via the Kuala Lumpur hub allowing all three of GEODIS’ key services – AIRFLEX, AIRFAST, AIRSAVE – to be offered to customers, presenting options that balance transit time against cost, according to customers’ individual needs.

“By enabling seamless connections with our expanded road network, connecting Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, the multimodal hub at Kuala Lumpur offers highly integrated transport solutions that not only circumvent disruptions affecting both air and sea cargo flows but also ensure that customers’ shipments can reach anywhere in mainland Southeast Asia,” says Onno Boots, President, and Chief Executive Officer, Asia Pacific, GEODIS.

”Given the increasingly complex supply chain landscape that has affected the logistical priorities and needs of industries across the board, it is more crucial now than ever to supplement integrated transport networks on strategic routes. GEODIS’ new intra-APAC flight routes represent our sustained commitment to provide highly reliable and innovative solutions to help customers optimize their response to the e-commerce boom and chart their long-term business growth.”