Chinese online retailer JD.com is expanding its cargo line

JD Logistics, the logistics arm of China’s largest retailer by revenue JD.com, is adding four additional converted Boeing 737-800 cargo planes to its private fleet to meet growing demand for e-commerce and express delivery in and around China.

AerCap, the world’s largest aircraft lessor, announced Tuesday that it will deliver four used 737-800 aircraft modified from a passenger configuration to transport main-deck containers to JD Logistics this year.

The aircraft will be based in Nantong, China and will serve routes between Beijing, Shenzhen, Wuxi and other destinations in Asia.

JD.com differs from other electronics retailers such as Amazon, Alibaba and Mercado Libre in Latin America in that it is a truly operational airline with its own pilots, while competitors inspect aircraft for order fulfillment purposes but outsource flights to certified pilots. airlines. It began operations in October 2022, and in September it operated its first international route from Shenzhen to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. The route operates three times a week and mainly handles e-commerce shipments from China to Vietnam, while also facilitating the shipment of seafood from Vietnam to China.

The company also uses the services of external airlines to transport e-commerce orders, especially on international routes.

JD Airlines, part of JD Logistics, performs shipments for other companies in addition to moving packages for JD.com. JD Logistics did so well supporting the online retailer and transforming into a third-party logistics provider seven years ago – offering e-commerce, cold chain logistics and last-mile delivery capabilities – that JD.com spun it off as a separate company in 2021.

AerCap currently has three 737-800 passenger-cargo aircraft on lease to JD Airlines, which also owns seven other single-aisle freighters. The influx of AerCap aircraft will expand JD Airlines’ fleet to 10 aircraft.

One of the newly leased planes already flies on the Shenzhen-Beijing route, a JD.com communications representative said.

JD Logistics has approximately 400,000 full-time employees, more than 1,600 warehouses in China and operates 90 bonded and direct mail warehouses overseas. In December, the company introduced its international express delivery service, initially connecting Shenzhen and Guangzhou with 23 countries in North America and Europe.

Customers in China can book home pickup on WeChat and expect to be picked up within an hour by JD’s in-house couriers.

Last year, JD.com entered into a strategic partnership with Geopost, a French international parcel delivery company, to provide door-to-door delivery between China and Europe.

The story continues

JD Logistics’ overseas warehouse operations offer same-day fulfillment services in key European markets, including Germany, the Netherlands, France, the United Kingdom, Spain and Poland, with delivery within two to three days throughout most of the United States.

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