China Southern Airlines has become the latest airline to join IAG Cargo’s Partner Plus program.

Six carriers now form the Partner Plus program including Qatar Airways, Japan Airlines, the Avianca group, American Airlines, and Finnair.

Beginning this month, IAG Cargo customers will benefit from confirmed space booked on China Southern Airlines aircraft to a range of new destinations including Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, and Urumqi.

“Our Partner Plus program has allowed us to grow our network reach in an asset-light way,” said Steve Gunning, CEO of IAG Cargo. “Today’s deal will provide our customers with new destinations in some of the Asia’s most important trading hubs.”

The addition of China Southern offers shippers extended network reach across all the world’s key markets, Gunning noted. “Our focus is now shifting away from adding new members and onto deepening our commercial relationships with the existing members of the program,” he added.

“IAG Cargo has a strong global network reach and will prove an important partner in helping us to connect our customers with markets in Europe, the Americas and elsewhere,” said Zhao Fengsheng, senior vice president for cargo at China Southern. “We look forward to working with them on what we believe will prove a highly effective and beneficial partnership.”