Polar Air Cargo beat out four rivals for new flights
The cargo carrier beat out four rivals for the new flights, including FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc. Polar plans to fly between Hong Kong and Seoul, with continuing service to the U.S. (9/3/2001)
The decision makes Polar the first U.S. carrier to hold traffic rights between those two Asian cities.
The three weekly flights were up for grabs under so-called fifth-freedom rights. In 1996, the Transportation Department awarded five such flights to FedEx, Memphis, Tenn., for service between Hong Kong and Subic Bay in the Philippines. In its decision Friday, the department said “no other applicant offered as great a combination of public benefits as Polar.”
Airlines that fought unsuccessfully to win flights awarded to Polar have 10 days week to file objections to the decision. A spokesman at Atlanta-based UPS said the ruling “reinforces UPS’s belief that it is time for the U.S. and Hong Kong to take practical steps toward liberalization that fully recognize the growing importance of the air express industry.”
Last month, Polar agreed to be acquired by Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Inc., Purchase, N.Y., for $84 million. Polar is owned by a General Electric Co. unit.
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Author:Newsdesk, eyefortransport.com
