Analysis of Top Air Cargo Operators at Changi International Airport

This report analyzes the air freight management at Changi International Airport, a major logistics hub. It examines air cargo movements and identifies the top five air cargo operators based on market share, using data from 2014 to 2019. The study utilizes flight information from April 6th to 9th, 2020, to determine the leading operators. The analysis reveals that Singapore Airlines Cargo is the market leader, followed by Federal Express, Korean Air, My Indo Airlines, Hong Kong Air Cargo, China Airlines, and K Mile Air. The report also provides insights into cargo flight frequency by country/region. Data from various sources, including Changiairport.com and Statista, are incorporated, with tables and figures illustrating the findings. The report highlights the dominance of Asian Pacific region in cargo transportation through Changi Airport.

Running head: AIR FREIGHT MANAGEMENT
Air Freight Management
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

1AIR FREIGHT MANAGEMENT
Top five air cargo operators at the Changi International Airport in terms of market share
Singapore is one of the largest logistics hubs of the world. Thus, Changi International
Airport handles a huge volume of airfreight each year. In the year 2016-2017, Changi airport
handled more than two million tonnes of cargo, which recorded the all the high for the airport. In
2018 also, the airport handled 2.01 million tonnes of airfreight. Changi Airfreight Centre
currently has nine cargo terminals that has a combined handling capacity of around three million
tonnes annually (Airport Technology, 2017), which makes it 8th largest cargo hub
(Changiairport.com, 2020).
Figure 1: Air freight movements at Changi Airport in Singapore from 2014 to 2019 (in
million metric tonnes)
(Source: Statista, 2020)
Changi International Airport currently has a network for 25 cargo airlines, which covers
not only the Asia-Pacific region, but also the other parts of the world. Among these, all the major
flagship airlines, led by Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Air Hong Kong, China Airlines,
Korean Air, Emirates, All Nippon Airways, Polar Air Cargo, Nippon Cargo Airlines, and Hong
Kong Air Cargo, take up a significant share in airfreight through Changi airport. 25 airlines
operate with 320 weekly cargo flights, covering 48 freighter city links. All the key markets of
Asia Pacific are reachable within only 7-hour of flight time, increasing the popularity of the

2AIR FREIGHT MANAGEMENT
Changi airport. At this airport, 24 out of 25 biggest airfreight forwarders of the world have
established their hubs, such as, SATS Coolport, dnata Coolchain, DHL South Asia Hub, SATS
eCommerce AirHub and FedEx Express South Pacific Regional Hub, which handles the FedEx
Express-TNT cargo (Changiairport.com, 2020).
The websites of Changi airport and the Singapore government have been explored to get
the information on the cargo flights arrivals and departures at Changi airport from 6th to 9th April,
2020 (Changiairport.com, 2020). This will give an idea about the total and average number of
cargo flights from different cargo operators that will discharge and load cargo at the Changi
airport from 6th to 9th April. This data also gives an overview of the countries, from where
maximum cargo is loaded and discharged at Changi. The data has been presented in the chart
below.
6-Apr 7-Apr 8-Apr 9-Apr
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
2
4
2
4
24
16
20 21
6
2 1 1
4 3 4 3
8
4 5
8
3 2
6
22 2 2 2
3 2 3 22 2 3 3
4 4
2 2
0
4 4 4
0 0
5 5
2 2 2 2
Cargo traffic flow at Changi Airport (6th - 9th April, 2020)
HONG KONG AIR CARGO
SINGAPORE AIRLINES CARGO
QATAR AIRWAYS
KOREAN AIR
FEDERAL EXPRESS
MY INDO AIRLINES
RAYA AIRWAYS
EMIRATES
MY JET XPRESS
CHINA AIRLINES
K MILE AIR
NIPPON CARGO AIRLINES
UNITED PARCEL SERVICE
Figure 2: Cargo operators at Changi Airport, by total flights (6th – 9th April, 2020)
(Source: Changiairport.com, 2020)
It can be seen that for all the four days, the cargo traffic flow is highest for Singapore
Airlines Cargo. It indicates that Singapore Airlines Cargo is the largest cargo operator and
undisputed leader in the cargo market in terms of market share at Changi airport. Federal Express
holds the second position in terms of number of flight arrival and departure. Korean airlines has

3AIR FREIGHT MANAGEMENT
a moderate traffic flow on all the four days, reflecting the credible market share of the airline.
My Indo Airlines, and Hong Kong Air Cargo, China Airline and K Mile Air also have a
substantial flow of traffic in comparison to rest of the airlines in between 6th and 9th April, 2020.
HONG KONG AIR CARGO
SINGAPORE AIRLINES CARGO
QATAR AIRWAYS
KOREAN AIR
FEDERAL EXPRESS
MY INDO AIRLINES
RAYA AIRWAYS
EMIRATES
MY JET XPRESS
CHINA AIRLINES
K MILE AIR
NIPPON CARGO AIRLINES
UNITED PARCEL SERVICE
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
12
81
10 14
25
13 8 10 10 12 12 10 8
3.0
20.3
2.5 3.5 6.3 3.3 2.0 2.5 2.5 3.0 3.0 2.5 2.0
Total and average number of cargo flights, by Airlines
Total for each
airline
Average for
each airline
Figure 3: Top cargo operators at Changi Airport, by total flights (6th – 9th April, 2020)
(Source: Changiairport.com, 2020)
The above image shows the total number of cargo flights to and from Changi airport that
will load and discharge cargo from 6th to 9th April, 2020. It can be seen that Singapore Airlines
Cargo holds the top position as cargo operator in terms of market share. It is the most dominant
player in the cargo operator market at Changi airport. In the four days under consideration, there
are total 81 flights of Singapore Airlines Cargo, with an average of 20.3. It is followed by
Federal Express at 2nd position with total 25 flights, with an average of 6.3 flights. Korean Air
holds 3rd position with total 14 flights (average 3.5) and My Indo Airlines holds the 4th position
with total 13 flights (average 3.3). Hong Kong Air Cargo, China Airlines and K Mile Air hold
the 5th position each with total 12 flights from 6th to 9th April, 2020.

4AIR FREIGHT MANAGEMENT
6-Apr 7-Apr 8-Apr 9-Apr
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
8 9
6
8
12
9
17
15
7
1 2 3
8 8
10
8
3
1
6 7
4 3 4 3
1 2 2 2
3 2 3 3
2
4
2 2
1 1
3
1
3
1 1 1
6 5
3
5
2 1 0 1
Total number of Cargo flights, by country/region (6th - 9th
April, 2020) HONG KONG
CHINA
AUSTRALIA
INDONESIA
JAPAN
KOREA
THAILAND
MALAYSIA
TAIPEI
DUBAI
DOHA
EUROPE
US
Figure 4: Total number of Cargo flights, by country/region (6th – 9th April, 2020)
(Source: Changiairport.com, 2020)
It can be seen that on the four days, from 6th to 9th April, 2020, cargo operators from 13
countries and regions have arrived at and departed from Changi Airport. Those are Hong Kong,
China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Australia, Malaysia, Taipei, Doha, Dubai, USA and
Europe. This indicates that majorly the countries from Asian Pacific region are the users of
Changi airport for their cargo transportation.

5AIR FREIGHT MANAGEMENT
HONG KONG
CHINA
AUSTRALIA
INDONESIA
JAPAN
KOREA
THAILAND
MALAYSIA
TAIPEI
DUBAI
DOHA
EUROPE
US
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
31
53
13
34
17 14
7
11 10
6 6
19
4
7.8
13.3
3.3
8.5
4.3 3.5 1.8 2.8 2.5 1.5 1.5 4.8 1.0
Total and Average number of flights, by
country/region (6th - 9th April, 2020)
Total flights Average flights
Figure 5: Total and Average number of flights, by country/region (6th - 9th April, 2020)
(Source: Changiairport.com, 2020)
The data shows that on that four days under consideration, maximum cargo flights (53)
were from China, followed by Indonesia (34), Hong Kong (31), European countries (19) and
Japan (17).
Therefore, from the above discussion, it can be said that by market share, Singapore
Airlines Cargo, Federal Express, Korean Air, My Indo Airlines, Hong Kong Air Cargo,
China Airlines and K Mile Air are the top airlines that hold the top five position as cargo
operators at the Changi International Airport.

6AIR FREIGHT MANAGEMENT
References
Airport Technology. (2017). The World's Top Ten Cargo Hub Airports. Airport Technology.
Retrieved 5 April 2020, from
https://www.airport-technology.com/features/feature78850/.
Changiairport.com. (2018). Changi Airport sets new record with two million tonnes of cargo
handled. Changiairport.com. Retrieved 5 April 2020, from
https://www.changiairport.com/corporate/media-centre/resources/publication/issue-7/
changi-airport-sets-new-record.html.
Changiairport.com. (2020). Changi Cargo Brochure. Changiairport.com. Retrieved 5 April 2020,
from https://www.changiairport.com/content/dam/cacorp/partnership/media/
H138814_Changi%20Cargo%20Brochure%2032PP_200Wx190H
%20R4%20HR_compressed.pdf.
Data.gov.sg. (2020). Air Cargo-Data.gov.sg. Data.gov.sg. Retrieved 5 April 2020, from
https://data.gov.sg/dataset?q=Air+Cargo.
Statista. (2020). Singapore: air freight movements at Changi Airport 2019. Statista. Retrieved 5
April 2020, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/867860/singapore-air-freight-
movements-changi-airport/.

7AIR FREIGHT MANAGEMENT
Appendix
Table 1: Top cargo operators at Changi Airport, by total and average number of flights (6th
– 9th April, 2020)
Cargo operator Total for each airline Average for each airline
Hong Kong Air Cargo 12 3
Singapore Airlines Cargo 81 20.3
Qatar Airways 10 2.5
Korean Air 14 3.5
Federal Express 25 6.3
My Indo Airlines 13 3.3
Raya Airways 8 2
Emirates 10 2.5
My Jet Xpress 10 2.5
China Airlines 12 3
K Mile Air 12 3
Nippon Cargo Airlines 10 2.5
United Parcel Service 8 2
(Source: Changiairport.com, 2020)

8AIR FREIGHT MANAGEMENT
Table 2: Number of cargo flights at Changi Airport, by airlines (6th - 9th April, 2020)
Cargo operator 6-Apr 7-Apr 8-Apr 9-Apr Total for each airline
Hong Kong Air Cargo 2 4 2 4 12
Singapore Airlines Cargo 24 16 20 21 81
Qatar Airways 6 2 1 1 10
Korean Air 4 3 4 3 14
Federal Express 8 4 5 8 25
My Indo Airlines 3 2 6 2 13
Raya Airways 2 2 2 2 8
Emirates 3 2 3 2 10
My Jet Xpress 2 2 3 3 10
China Airlines 4 4 2 2 12
K Mile Air 0 4 4 4 12
Nippon Cargo Airlines 0 0 5 5 10
United Parcel Service 2 2 2 2 8
Total 60 47 59 59 225
(Source: Changiairport.com, 2020)

9AIR FREIGHT MANAGEMENT
Table 3: Total number of Cargo flights, by country/region (6th - 9th April, 2020)
Country/
Region
6-Apr 7-Apr 8-Apr 9-Apr Total flights
Hong Kong 8 9 6 8 31
China 12 9 17 15 53
Australia 7 1 2 3 13
Indonesia 8 8 10 8 34
Japan 3 1 6 7 17
Korea 4 3 4 3 14
Thailand 1 2 2 2 7
Malaysia 3 2 3 3 11
Taipei 2 4 2 2 10
Dubai 1 1 3 1 6
Doha 3 1 1 1 6
Europe 6 5 3 5 19
US 2 1 0 1 4
Total 60 47 59 59 225
(Source: Changiairport.com, 2020)

10AIR FREIGHT MANAGEMENT
Table 4: Total and Average number of flights, by country/region (6th - 9th April, 2020)
Country/
Region
Total flights Average flights
Hong Kong 31 7.8
China 53 13.3
Australia 13 3.3
Indonesia 34 8.5
Japan 17 4.3
Korea 14 3.5
Thailand 7 1.8
Malaysia 11 2.8
Taipei 10 2.5
Dubai 6 1.5
Doha 6 1.5
Europe 19 4.8
US 4 1
(Source: Changiairport.com, 2020)