SF Airlines Marks 14 Years of Incident-Free Operations

On December 31, 2023, SF Airlines successfully concluded its annual air transport operations, achieving 14 consecutive years of safe flight. Throughout the year, the airline expanded its service coverage and transport scale while enhancing operational quality and service capabilities, accumulating over 120,000 safe flight hours and transporting more than 950,000 metric tons of cargo.

Sustained Breakthroughs: Scale Expansion Highlights Advantages

In 2023, SF Airlines continuously upgraded operational configurations and expanded transport capacity, achieving breakthroughs in fleet development and route network expansion. This laid a solid foundation for supporting air cargo hub operations and fulfilling corporate economic and social responsibilities.

Throughout the year, SF Airlines put 9 new freighters into service. Its all-cargo fleet surpassed the 80-aircraft milestone in March and grew to 86 by year-end, including 26 wide-body freighters with an increasing fleet share. Leveraging steadily growing capacity, SF Airlines rapidly expanded its route network, adding domestic destinations like Yiwu, Xuzhou, and Ordos, and international points including Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Tel Aviv, Mumbai, Port Moresby, and Budapest. The airline also increased frequencies on existing international routes, extending service to the Middle East and Oceania for the first time. Global destinations now exceed 100 cities/regions, advancing its "comprehensive domestic coverage and seamless international reach" cargo network.

Hub Operations: Enhanced Efficiency Unleashes Vitality

As the first cargo carrier at Asia’s premier dedicated cargo hub airport, Ezhou Huahu Airport, SF Airlines accelerated operational capabilities in 2023. By building a hub-and-spoke network, it achieved a daily operational scale of nearly 90 takeoffs/landings in coordinated "wave operations," boosting network efficiency and logistics dynamism. This enhanced the on-time performance of SF Express’s time-critical products and next-morning delivery coverage, supporting Ezhou Huahu Airport’s vision of "nationwide overnight delivery and global connectivity within days."

Route Network Development: As of December 31, SF Airlines operates 44 domestic routes from Ezhou to major cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Xi’an, etc.) and 10 international routes (Los Angeles, New York, Liège, Frankfurt, Abu Dhabi, Chennai, Delhi, Osaka, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, etc.).

Ground Operations: At Ezhou Huahu Airport, SF Airlines deployed over 300 specialized ground support vehicles, capable of simultaneously handling loading/unloading for 40+ aircraft during peak hours. It established a domestically advanced centralized cargo screening image analysis system, boosting processing efficiency to 24,000 parcels/hour. Joint large-scale emergency drills with 300+ participants strengthened contingency response capabilities. Ongoing infrastructure development at SF Airlines’ Ezhou base enhanced fundamental management, enabling tight coordination with Ezhou Huahu Airport and the SF Ezhou Hub to ensure flight operations.

With rapid network expansion and growing ground support capabilities, SF Airlines handled over 200,000 metric tons of domestic and international cargo through Ezhou Huahu Airport in 2023.

Diversified Services: Responsibility-Driven Value Creation

Adhering to a "customer-centric" philosophy, SF Airlines provides secure, efficient express air transport and customized logistics solutions while actively fulfilling social responsibilities and emergency transport needs.

Notable 2023 missions included:

February: "Tokyo-Chengdu" flight repatriating giant panda "Xiangxiang" from Japan.

September: Launched "Tokyo=Hangzhou" route for transporting live racehorses for international events.November: "Ezhou-Frankfurt" flight exporting BYD’s large power lithium batteries—first such shipment via a Chinese airline.December: Emergency "Wuxi=Lanzhou" route launched within 6 hours, delivering 20 tons of quake relief supplies to Jishishan County, Gansu.

Concurrently, SF Airlines earned multiple recognitions:

April 2023: Flight Operations Department awarded "National Workers’ Pioneer" for supply chain excellence.September 2023: Building an Air Silk Road Network via Cargo Hub service case named "Demonstration Case with Development Potential" at CIFTIS 2023.December 2023: Named "Aviation Employer of the Year" in CAAC Recruitment’s 2022-2023 awards.

Full Sails, Steady Oars: Forging Ahead

2024 marks a pivotal year for China’s 14th Five-Year Plan. Developing air logistics is crucial for strengthening domestic and global supply chains and achieving high-quality economic growth. SF Airlines will uphold its "Aviation-Focused, Logistics-Win" philosophy, steadily expanding fleet capacity, extending route networks, enhancing hub operations, and strengthening foundational management. Through cargo routes and diversified logistics services, it will respond to market demands, integrate deeply into industrial and supply chains, and deliver sustained, robust logistics support for China’s high-quality economic development.