China Southern Airlines has added two Boeing 777 freighters to its fleet to serve the US and Europe markets, reported Cargonews Asia. One of the freighters serves the Shanghai-Frankfurt route via Urumqi in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, while the other is deployed on the Shanghai-Chicago route, said the company.

The addition of the 777 to its network has doubled the carrier’s capacity on US-bound routes, which were previously served by two 747 freighters. A 777 freighter can carry as much as 105 tonnes of cargo, and is far more fuel efficient than the 747.

China Southern’s cargo business started to pick up in the second half of 2009, resulting in a shortage of capacity and a rise in cargo rates.