The logistics and transportation unit of Chinese online retailer JD.com has entered into a partnership agreement with Tianjin Air Cargo (HT, Tianjin).

Under the terms of the agreement, the HNA Group cargo specialist is to avail its fleet of B737 freighters to JD Logistics for use in serving JD.com transport nodes located across China.

According to JD.com, the partnership's inaugural service took place on Tuesday, November 6, and will see a single JD.com-branded B737-300(F), B-2945 (msn 27362), run six round-trip flights per week between Tianjin and Guangzhou initially. Other routes planned include those between Northern and Southern China.

“The addition of freight by dedicated cargo aircraft brings the strength of JD’s nationwide logistics network to even greater heights,” Hui Wang, Head of the Express Business Unit at JD Logistics, said in a statement. “We look forward to expanding our relationship with Tianjin Air Cargo in the coming months and we are sure that the resulting expedited delivery speeds will be welcomed by individual consumers as well as the businesses we work with as part of our Retail as a Service strategy.”

Having secured its AOC in August, Tianjin Air Cargo commenced revenue flights in mid-September using its fleet of one B737-300(F) and two B737-400(F)s. Currently, it own scheduled network focusses on regular Tianjin-Shenzhen shuttles.