The private carrier Okay Airways plans to make deeper inroads into the freight business this year and will build a domestic network with Hangzhou as its hub, the Chinese airline said yesterday.

The country's first private carrier is also in talks with FedEx Express and other potential partners to cooperate on express mail and cargo services, Tianjin-based Okay said.

"Okay is planning to build its domestic freight service network in the coming years," said Liu Jieyin, president of Okay.

"Freight will be flown first to Hangzhou before being carried to other destinations using larger aircraft," he said.

The business model is especially fit for express delivery and differs from rivals Air China Cargo and China Cargo Airlines's point-to-point system, he said.

"It saves us operational costs," Liu said.

Okay's first freight flight from Guangzhou to Hangzhou was launched earlier this month.

The carrier, which now operates three Boeing 737-300 freighters, plans to start Hangzhou-to-Beijing cargo flights in April, Liu said.

"We will open more flights according to the demand from our business partners," he said.

Talks with FedEx Express and other potential business partners are under way and should bring results before the end of March, Liu said.

Earlier media reports said Okay will probably become the partner of FedEx Express's domestic express business.