ACP Worldwide appointed as Air China GSA in South Africa
ACP Worldwide has been chosen as the cargo general sales agent (GSA) across South Africa for Air China and will sell capacity on the airline’s first ever non-stop, direct flight between China and Africa. Services will operate from Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport three times a week – on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday – to Beijing, and will utilise a B777-300ER aircraft.
China is currently South Africa’s largest trade partner and there has already been considerable interest in direct cargo services between the two nations.
“Air China has a very large network and we will be looking [to] support not just cargo destined for Beijing but also to cities beyond, most notably Shanghai, Chengdu and Guangzhou,” said ACP Worldwide’s Country Manager, Dawn Bailey.
Business in South Africa will principally be generated from Johannesburg and Cape Town and ACP has already put a trucking network in place to allow cargo from Durban, Port Elizabeth and East London to be fed on to the flights.
ACP said that a wide range of commodities are expected to be carried to China and there have already been expressions of interest from forwarders with flowers, oysters, engine blocks, catalytic converters and valuable cargo.
