SIA Cargo starts weekly Singapore-Hanoi airfreight service

SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) Cargo has launched a weekly B747-400 freighter service to the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi from November 1.

A statement from the carrier said the new freighter service will operate every Thursday on a Singapore-Hanoi-Shanghai-Singapore routing.

"Vietnam is one of the fastest growing economies in east Asia. This new freighter service together with the eight times weekly passenger services, will boost the growing freight business links between Vietnam and its key export markets in Europe, the US, China and Southeast Asia," said SIA cargo chief Goh Choon Phong.

Vietnam's top export items are crude oil, textile, footwear, coffee and wood products while the country imports machine tools, petroleum, steel, fabrics and electronics, the company said.