Tasman Cargo Airlines (HJ, Sydney Kingsford Smith) has begun operating a wet-leased B777-200F between Sydney and Hong Kong International on behalf of DHL Express. The logistics company flagged the start of the service in an April 12 media statement.
In September 2023, ch-aviation reported that Tasman Cargo Airlines had secured approval from Australia's International Air Services Commission to operate five weekly roundtrips on the city pair.
The statement said Tasman had procured the aircraft from Kalitta Air (K4, Detroit Willow Run) on an ACMI basis. ADS-B flight tracking data indicates the service started on April 16 with 14-year-old N772CK (msn 35607) initially tasked with servicing the contract.
“Tasman Cargo Airlines is proud to introduce another flight operation to our expanding aircraft network," said Tasman Cargo CEO Kim Rasmussen. "The B777-200 freighter is a modern aircraft that delivers reliability, great capacity, and transport options for different special commodities on top of general cargo and express products."
Tasman Cargo has an established history with DHL Express. In addition to the B777F, it operates two DHL-owned B767-300Fs for the company on the Australia-New Zealand country pair and a wet-leased B767-300ER(BCF) between Australia and Singapore.
DHL freight on the Australia-Hong Kong country pair was previously routed through Singapore. DHL said the new route would allow it to offer Australian customers speedier delivery to Hong Kong and the neighbouring markets of mainland China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines, and Viet Nam.
