Exports another benefit

THE ability of China Southern jets to funnel thousands of tourists to the tropics has been lauded, but the region also stands to benefit from the airline’s export potential.

The wide-bodied aircraft are capable of taking Far North produce back to China’s mainland.

Paul McLean, chief commercial officer for aviation at Cairns Airport, said the cargo opportunities available should not be understated.

“It’s good to have this in the business mix,” he said.

“The outbound market here might be smaller in terms of population base, but valuable because of the high volume of freight commodities available.”

Mr McLean, who spent many years working for Air Canada, said securing an airline of China Southern’s stature was an “incredible coup” for the region.

“It’s definitely a historic day. You build up to something big like this, and now it’s finally here,” he said.

“It’s a great thing for the region to have more direct connectivity to an incredibly large market with a lot of potential.”

As reported in the Cairns Post last month, a growing number of wide-bodied jets have been landing in Far North Queensland over the past 12 months.

Cairns Airport statistics show that, while the number of planes at the airport decreased slightly, there was also a two per cent growth in total available seats over the 12 months to October.