Transaero Airlines has launched cargo services between Russia and China. Transaero, being the designated scheduled carrier on the Beijing-Novosibirsk route, delivered 22.4 tonnes of mail while performing the first flight on this route using Tu-204C aircraft. The airline will serve this route on a regular basis.

Olga Pleshakova, CEO Transaero Airlines, said: Transaero assigns a high priority to developing relations with the People's Republic of China. Our airline operates scheduled passenger flights to Beijing and Sanya. We recently signed a Partnership Agreement with China's largest bank ICBC to attract funding for the airline. We are also partnering with ICBC Leasing on the delivery of the Airbus A321 aircraft. We regard the launch of scheduled cargo flights to China as another step in facilitating the development of business links between the two countries.

Transaero is the leading airline in the Russian Federation in terms of cargo turnover on domestic routes. In the first 10 months of 2014 the growth of cargo traffic in tonnes over the same period in 2013 reached 1.8%. Transaero carries the majority of its cargo in passenger aircraft cargo compartments. The airline is the largest operator of widebody aircraft fleet in Russia and Eastern Europe. In 2013 two Tu-204C cargo aircraft joined the airline's fleet. These aircraft will be operated on the route to China, which will be the first scheduled cargo service in the history of Transaero's operations.