Australia Post and Qantas announce dedicated freighter fleet
Qantas and Australia Post have announced a new dedicated domestic air-freighter network that will be used exclusively by Australia Post and StarTrack customers. The dedicated network will consist of six freighter aircraft featuring StarTrack livery – and there will be “continued priority access” to cargo space in the Qantas Group’s passenger fleet.
Five of the dedicated StarTrack freighters will come from Qantas Freight’s existing fleet, with a soon-to-be-delivered sixth larger aircraft, a Boeing 737-400, joining the fleet.
The network, which is set to be launched in July, will service nine destinations across the east and west coast of Australia. It is part of a $500m+, five-year contract signed last year for the transport of Australia Post’s domestic mail, parcels and Express Post until mid-2020.
In a joint statement issued yesterday (2 May), Ahmed Fahour, Managing Director & Group CEO Australia Post, commented: “This strategic alliance creates a greater opportunity for us to be first to deliver for our customers, combining our unrivalled delivery network and existing freight network with a dedicated and flexible air network.
“The dedicated domestic air-freighter network – featuring our StarTrack-branded planes – is our latest milestone in delivering a world-class parcels, freight and logistics network that meets the ecommerce needs of Australian businesses and consumers and connects them to global opportunities.”
Qantas Group CEO, Alan Joyce, said: “We’re thrilled to provide Australia Post with a dedicated freighter network for their domestic customers. This builds on the strong relationship that has existed between the national carrier and the nation’s postal service since 1922 when Qantas first started flying airmail.”
Joyce added: “Scale is a unique part of what we offer. Qantas Freight offers access to the collective belly-space on domestic Qantas and Jetstar passenger flights as well as eight freighter aircraft in addition to the Australia Post dedicated freighter network. This network, combined with the strength of our partnership and interline agreements, gives Qantas Freight significant network reach to more than 500 international and 80 domestic destinations.”
