JD Logistics, the logistics arm of China’s largest retailer by revenue JD.com, is adding four additional Boeing 737-800 converted cargo aircraft to its private fleet to support 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 737-800s, modified from passenger configuration for maindeck container transport, to JD Logistics this year.
The aircraft will be based in Nantong, China, and operate routes between Beijing, Shenzhen, Wuxi and other destinations in Asia.
JD.com differs from other electronic retailers like Amazon, Alibaba and Latin America’s Mercado Libre in that it is a true operating airline with its own pilots while competitors control aircraft for fulfillment purposes but outsource the flying to certified airlines. It began operating in October 2022 and in September flew its first international route from Shenzhen to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The route operates three times per week, primarily carrying e-commerce parcels from China to Vietnam, while also facilitating shipment of fruit and seafood from Vietnam to China.
The company also uses third-party airlines to transport e-commerce orders, especially on international routes.
JD Airlines, part of JD Logistics, carries shipments for other businesses in addition to moving packages for JD.com. JD Logistics did so well supporting the online retailer and branching into a pure third-party logistics provider seven years ago – with e-commerce, cold chain logistics and last-mile delivery capabilities – that JD.com spun it off in 2021 as a separate company.
AerCap currently has three 737-800 passenger-to-freighter aircraft on lease to JD Airlines, which also owns seven other of the narrowbody freighters. The influx of AerCap planes will bring the JD Airlines fleet to 10 aircraft.
One of the newly leased aircraft is already in operation between Shenzhen and Beijing, a JD.com communications representative said.
JD Logistics has about 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 international express delivery service, initially connecting Shenzhen and Guangzhou with 23 countries in North America and Europe.
Customers in China can book doorstep pickup on WeChat and expect one-hour pickup by JD’s in-house couriers.
JD.com last year entered a strategic collaboration with Geopost, a France-based international parcel delivery service, to provide door-to-door delivery between China and Europe.
JD Logistics’ overseas warehousing operations offer same-day fulfillment services in key European markets, including Germany, the Netherlands, France, the U.K., Spain, and Poland, two-to-three-day delivery across much of the United States.
Click here for more FreightWaves/American Shipper stories by Eric Kulisch.
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