PAL Cargo joins hands with Teleport to expand e-commerce air cargo in the Philippines

PAL Cargo, the Philippine air cargo arm, has reached a cooperation with Teleport Network to open domestic e-commerce cargo connections from Manila to Davao and Puerto Princesa in the first phase. The two parties plan to further explore international shared routes to expand regional distribution capabilities in the Philippines and provide more air transportation options for e-commerce sellers, freight forwarders and 3PL companies.

PAL Cargo, a subsidiary of Philippine Airlines (PAL), recently signed a cooperation agreement with Teleport Network, planning to jointly build an air transportation network for e-commerce cargo. According to a report by PortCalls Asia on September 22, the two parties will start cooperation in the Philippine domestic market, add a cargo route from Manila to Davao and Princesa Port, and study international shared routes in the subsequent stages.

The core of this cooperation is to combine the existing network, transportation capacity and e-commerce logistics capabilities of the two companies. Teleport is the logistics business unit of Capital A Group, which is also the parent company of AirAsia. PAL Cargo owns Philippine Airlines’ route network and local market foundation in domestic and international markets. Both parties stated that by integrating their respective resources, they can establish broader air connections for e-commerce goods in the Philippines.

Jan Philipp Pöter, chief commercial officer of Teleport, said that e-commerce in Asia continues to grow and the market needs to allocate sufficient capacity at the right location. According to him, the combination of Teleport’s network and PAL’s existing network will provide customers with more options for transporting goods within the Philippines and connecting to regional markets. Both parties also regard this domestic cooperation as the starting point for a broader partnership.

Jason Siy, Vice President of PAL Freight, said that as Asian e-commerce continues to accelerate its development, similar cooperation will help build a more resilient and more connected supply chain. He pointed out that PAL Cargo’s network coverage and market influence, combined with Teleport’s e-commerce logistics experience, are expected to expand customer opportunities and support new growth paths.

The two destinations involved in the first phase have obvious regional distribution significance. Davao is an important southern city and commercial node in the Philippines, while Puerto Princesa serves the province of Palawan and surrounding markets. The report did not announce the specific flights, cabins, freight rates or official departure date. Therefore, it is currently not possible to judge the scale of the new capacity based on this, nor can it be directly inferred that transportation costs will decrease. However, if the route is put into operation as planned, regional sellers and forwarders will have the opportunity to obtain more air cargo arrangements besides relying solely on Manila.

For cross-border e-commerce companies, new domestic connections may improve the flexibility of transferring goods from major distribution centers to regional markets. Merchants serving Davao, Puerto Princesa and surrounding areas can pay attention to future receipt rules, cargo size restrictions, order cutoff times, transshipment nodes and customs clearance arrangements. For freight forwarders and third-party logistics service providers, if international shared routes are launched in the future, PAL's overseas network and Teleport's e-commerce channels in the Asia-Pacific region may complement each other, but the specific cities and products covered still need to wait for official announcements.

Teleport said its business adopts a hybrid model, combining the bellyhold of AirAsia passenger aircraft, dedicated cargo aircraft and the capacity of more than 40 aviation partners, covering most of Southeast Asia and extending to the wider Asia-Pacific market. This information shows that Teleport has the business foundation to integrate multiple aviation resources, but whether the cooperation can be transformed into stable, bookable and competitively priced cargo products also depends on execution links such as flight planning, cabin management, ground operations and terminal distribution.

Overall, the cooperation between PAL Cargo and Teleport has brought new network expansion directions to Philippine e-commerce air cargo. In the short term, market attention will focus on the actual service performance between Manila and Davao and Puerto Princesa; in the medium term, it will depend on whether both parties announce international shared routes and more regional nodes. When planning shipments, companies should refer to official flight, cabin and price information, and continue to compare air, sea and multimodal transportation options.