As the Asia-Pacific air cargo market evolves beyond its traditional reliance on e-commerce, new growth drivers such as AI infrastructure, electronics, pharmaceuticals, and industrial cargo are reshaping demand. In this interview, Eric Erbacher, Chairman of the Board, Chapman Freeborn Holdings and Allen Liu, President of Chapman Freeborn Greater China, discuss with Cargo Trends the changing trade flows, charter market dynamics, capacity constraints and emerging opportunities across Greater China and the wider Asia-Pacific region, while sharing their outlook for the industry over the next two to three years.
1. What is your outlook for the air cargo market in Greater China and Asia-Pacific, and which demand trends are currently shaping the region's key trade lanes?
The outlook for the air cargo market in Greater China and Asia-Pacific remains cautiously optimistic despite ongoing regulatory changes and shifting trade dynamics.
While cross-border e-commerce growth has moderated due to policy adjustments in key markets, we expect the sector to gradually rebalance as businesses adapt. At the same time, the rapid expansion of AI is creating strong demand for the movement of server racks, AI chips, semiconductor equipment and data center infrastructure from Asia to North America and Europe.
As a result, the charter market is evolving from being heavily dependent on e-commerce to a more diversified mix of general cargo, industrial equipment and high-value technology shipments, providing confidence for long-term growth across the region.
2. How has the growth of cross-border e-commerce influenced charter demand in the region?
Cross-border e-commerce has been one of the key drivers of charter demand in recent years, particularly on the China–US and China–Europe trade lanes. However, regulatory changes have significantly impacted e-commerce volumes, resulting in a noticeable slowdown in demand across the Trans-Pacific market.
According to Trade and Transport Group's analysis of China Customs data, China's low-value cross-border e-commerce exports fell 7% year-on-year in May 2026, marking a sixth consecutive monthly decline. Despite these short-term challenges, the market is expected to gradually adjust to new customs procedures and tariff structures, allowing trade flows to stabilize. Rather than disappearing, e-commerce is becoming part of a broader cargo mix as operators diversify their customer base and cargo portfolio.
3. Are there any particular industries driving increased charter activity in Asia today?
Several industries are currently driving strong charter demand across Asia, with AI-related infrastructure cargo emerging as one of the most significant growth sectors. Large quantities of server racks and related equipment are being transported by air to support the rapid construction of AI data centres, particularly in North America and Europe. These shipments often require dedicated charter aircraft because of their size, urgency and value.
Alongside AI-related cargo, electronics continue to generate consistent demand across regional and international trade lanes. The textile and fashion industries also remain major contributors, particularly exports from China, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Cambodia. In addition, the expansion of electric vehicle manufacturing has increased demand for transporting lithium batteries and large battery systems by air.
4. Which Asia-Pacific markets offer the strongest growth opportunities for charter operations, and why?
China continues to represent the strongest long-term opportunity for charter operations due to its manufacturing capacity, extensive export base and well-established logistics infrastructure. The country's importance is expected to remain unchanged as it continues to play a leading role in global industrial production, even as production networks become increasingly diversified across Asia.
India is also emerging as a major growth market, supported by expanding pharmaceutical exports, textile manufacturing and increasing industrial activity. Across South and Southeast Asia, countries such as Vietnam, Bangladesh and Cambodia continue to benefit from manufacturing diversification, particularly within the textile and apparel sectors, creating growing demand for international air cargo services. Meanwhile, the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure, semiconductor supply chains and other high-value technology sectors is creating opportunities across markets such as South Korea and Japan.
Recognizing these trends, the company continues to invest across the region by expanding its office network, increasing its workforce and strengthening its operational presence to support future growth.
5. What are the biggest challenges currently facing the air cargo and charter market?
The air cargo and charter industry continues to face significant challenges, primarily driven by geopolitical uncertainty, changing regulations and constrained aircraft availability. Regional conflicts and airspace closures frequently disrupt established trade routes, requiring operators to respond rapidly with alternative transport solutions.
At the same time, evolving customs regulations and e-commerce policies in major markets continue to reshape cargo flows and create uncertainty for logistics providers.
Capacity constraints remain another major challenge. Although overall cargo demand has moderated from previous highs, charter capacity remains constrained, particularly within the widebody freighter segment. Delays to next-generation freighters such as the Airbus A350F and Boeing 777-8F, combined with ongoing retirements of older aircraft, have tightened capacity and driven up leasing costs, increasing reliance on mid-sized converted freighters like the Boeing 767 and Airbus A330.
Managing this uncertainty requires operational flexibility, financial discipline and the ability to rapidly adapt to changing market circumstances.
6. How is Chapman Freeborn adapting its services to meet evolving customer requirements across the region?
Chapman Freeborn is responding to changing customer requirements by diversifying its service portfolio and business model.
Customer requirements have evolved considerably in recent years, with businesses placing greater emphasis on speed, flexibility and customized logistics solutions rather than securing large blocks of charter capacity months in advance. To meet these expectations, Chapman Freeborn, traditionally focused on full-aircraft charter operations, now also offers partial charter solutions and per-kilogram cargo services, allowing customers to move anything from small, urgent shipments to full freighter loads. The business has also expanded into specialist logistics services such as On Board Courier (OBC), Next Flight Out, time-critical logistics and live animal transportation, providing a broader range of tailored solutions.
Another key element of the company's strategy is maintaining flexible aircraft capacity that can be deployed quickly during geopolitical crises, humanitarian emergencies or unexpected supply chain disruptions. Rather than focusing solely on aircraft utilization, Chapman Freeborn prioritizes responsiveness and operational flexibility, enabling it to serve increasingly fragmented customer requirements in a rapidly changing market.
7. Looking ahead, what is your outlook for the Asia-Pacific air cargo industry over the next 2–3 years?
The medium-term outlook for the Asia-Pacific air cargo industry remains positive, supported by continued economic growth, expanding manufacturing activity and increasing demand for specialized logistics services.
We expect demand to become increasingly diversified, with sectors such as AI infrastructure, electronics, pharmaceuticals and industrial equipment playing a larger role alongside e-commerce. Time-critical logistics solutions are also expected to play an increasingly important role as customers seek greater flexibility in response to market volatility and geopolitical uncertainty.
Although aircraft capacity is expected to remain constrained for several years, these conditions are likely to sustain demand for dedicated charter operators.
Overall, this positions the Asia-Pacific region as one of the strongest drivers of global air cargo growth over the coming years.
