December 2012 – January 2013
From the Editor
Hope for a brighter 2013
The year 2012 will be another benchmark for the history books of air cargo. It is a year virtually all will be happy to forget. It does however end with some optimism that the prolonged ‘bottoming’ of the air cargo will come to an end soon – at least sooner than later.... Read More
Gateways
Africa Air Cargo Supplement in February issue
The past two to three years have witnessed a significant growth in air cargo traffic between Asia and Africa due to investment in African infrastructure. At the same time, global demand for Africa’s oil/gas resources, minerals, and other commodities has soared, generating more wealth in various parts of the African continent. The result has been an increase in African consumer spending on imported goods from Asian countries. China’s trade with Africa of US$116 billion is double that between India and Africa presently, which stands at about $51 billion.... Read MoreAfriqiyah Airways ups its A350 XWB order
Libyan carrier Afriqiyah Airways has increased its A350 XWB order with a new firm order for four A350-900s. The carrier has also converted its original order for six A350-800s into six of the larger A350-900 model. This brings Afriqiyah’s total A350 XWBs on order to ten A350-900s. These aircraft will be operated on new routes the carrier will open to destinations in the US, the Middle East and Asia.... Read MoreAfriqiyah Airways ups its A350 XWB order
With international routes seen as one of the last remaining areas of expansion for Air Canada, the airline announced a major new push into the rapidly growing Asian market, including seven new weekly flights to China this summer. On 1 June Air Canada will be flying three additional weekly departures from Toronto to Beijing, for a total of ten a week, as well as four more Vancouver to Beijing flights, for a weekly total of eleven departures.... Read MoreAir Canada targets Asia for major expansion
With international routes seen as one of the last remaining areas of expansion for Air Canada, the airline announced a major new push into the rapidly growing Asian market, including seven new weekly flights to China this summer.... Read MoreHawaiian to launch Taipei-Honolulu in July
Hawaiian Airlines today announced plans to launch nonstop service between Taipei, Taiwan and Honolulu in July 2013, further extending the airline’s strategic expansion into Asia.... Read MoreAvianca adds three more B787 Dreamliners
Boeing and Avianca Airlines, Colombia’s flagship airline, have announced an order for three 787 Dreamliners valued at approximately US$620 million at published list prices.... Read MoreBoeing creates new aircraft development unit
Boeing Co. has announced plans to revamp the structure of its commercial aircraft business to include a group that will oversee aircraft development.... Read MoreBoeing to do 767 P2F for Guggenheim
Boeing and Guggenheim Aviation Partners announced an agreement for Boeing to convert three B767-300ER passenger airplanes to freighters. The Boeing Converted Freighters (BCF) will be delivered to Guggenheim Aviation Partners in 2013. Boeing will manage and engineer the project with the actual conversion taking place at ST Aerospace’s subsidiary, ST Aviation Services Company (SASCO) in Paya Lebar, Singapore.... Read MoreAA Cargo appoints single GSSA in C. America
American Airlines Cargo has strengthened its sales offering in Central America with the appointment of a single GSSA – FlyUs – across the region. With immediate effect FlyUs is responsible for cargo sales on behalf of American Airlines across eight cities in seven countries. FlyUs central American operation is headquartered in San Jose, Costa Rica from where a Business Center has been also been established in order to serve customer needs throughout the region, six days a week.... Read MoreGSSA ECS acquires three Italian companies
The ECS Group has announced the acquisition of three companies in Italy founded by Glauco Martinelli – Air Transport Consultants Spa (ATC), Airfreight and Data Processing Srl (ADP) and Airline Logistics Srl (AirLog). ATC was founded in 1980 and is the leading air cargo general sales and service agent in Italy with offices in Milan, Rome, Venice and Florence.... Read MoreNew B747-8F service to Ghana for Cargolux
Cargolux has begun operating a new B747-8F to Ghana from November 2012. The new aircraft will be used on the weekly Cargolux service between Abidjan, Accra and Luxembourg, where Cargolux carries a variety of freight, including heavy machinery for the mining and oil industries as well as perishable goods including flowers, fruits and other foods. The launch customer for the B747-8F, Cargolux now operates five B747-8s and 11 B747- 400Fs.... Read MoreAsia-Pac carriers see biggest Oct declines
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced global traffic results for October showing a significant deterioration in freight demand – particularly for Asia-Pacific carriers – alongside a persistent softening of passenger traffic growth.... Read MoreCorsair celebrates its first A330-300
French carrier Corsair, part of the TUI Group, has taken delivery of the first of two A330-300s ordered from Airbus. The new aircraft are aimed at strengthening services from Paris across the Atlantic Ocean, to the French West Indies, Canada and West Africa and to the Indian Ocean destinations.... Read MoreSuccessful China-Germany rail freight trial
DB Schenker and Chinese rail operator YuXinOu (Chongqing) Logistics Co. have successfully tested the use of a ‘common consignment note’ for rail freight shipments between China and Europe.... Read MoreFirst flyable A350 XWB structurally complete
Airbus has successfully completed the main structural assembly and system connection of A350 XWB ‘MSN-001’ – the first flight-test aircraft.... Read MoreVirgin returns to Cape Town for peak
Virgin Atlantic Cargo’s restarting of winter season flights from Cape Town is providing a timely boost in capacity for South Africa’s general cargo and perishable exporters as they look to take advantage of peak season demand in the UK and US consumer markets, according to the carrier.... Read MoreIAG Cargo promotes one brand
IAG Group has announced the launch of IAG Cargo as a single, unified commercial entity for customers, suppliers and other external stakeholders looking to engage with the company. The new brand will also support new cargo entrants to the International Airlines Group (IAG) alongside British Airways, Iberia and bmi.... Read MoreEU stops the clock on ETS
Under immense international pressure including the threat of retaliatory measures, the European Union (EU) announced it will freeze, for a year, its rule that all airlines must pay for their carbon emissions for flights into and out of EU airports. Flights within the EU will still have to pay for their carbon emissions with the year-long exemption applying to flights linking EU airports to countries outside of the bloc.... Read MoreChapman Freeborn opens Buenos Aires office
Chapman Freeborn Airchartering has further expanded its operations in South America with the establishment of commercial representation in Buenos Aires, Argentina.... Read MoreASL acquires TNT Express’ airlines
ASL Aviation (ASL) reached an agreement with TNT Express for the acquisition of 100 per cent of the equity interest in TNT Airways SA and Pan Air Lineas Areas SA (PNR). The transfer is conditional on and will become effective immediately prior to the completion of the proposed UPS-TNT Express merger.... Read MoreAirbus offers new 242 tonne A330 MTOW
Opening new direct flights with A330- 300s between South-East Asia and Europe Airbus has improved the A330-300 and A330-200 further by providing operators both with a 242 metric tonne maximum take-off weight (MTOW) capability and, for the larger A330-300, an increased fuel capacity option. These enhancements build on the capability announced earlier this year for an increased 240 tonne MTOW, and will be available for operators in 2015.... Read MoreLux gov’t buys back Qatar’s Cargolux share
Luxembourg’s government is set to buy Qatar Airways’ 35 per cent shareholding in Cargolux, ministers confirmed in parliament on 6 December. It was also confirmed that the government is in talks with the Chinese HNA Group – owner of Hainan Airlines and Yangtze River Express – as well as other unspecified potential bidders.... Read MoreIraqi Airways gets first Airbus A330
Iraqi Airways, the national carrier of Iraq, has taken delivery of its first A330-200 becoming a new operator for the type with the aircraft to be deployed on European routes including Germany, Austria and the UK. This will be the first Airbus widebody aircraft to be operated by Iraqi Airways and joins the carrier’s modest fleet of two A321 aircraft.... Read MoreQatar begins Belgrade, Serbia service
Qatar Airways has launched scheduled flights to Serbia, its latest entry into Eastern Europe and the airline’s 11th new route of the year. The Doha-based carrier inaugurated the first of three weekly services to the country’s capital city of Belgrade.... Read MoreQatar opts for larger A350-1000
Qatar Airways and Airbus have signed an amendment to convert its existing firm order for twenty (20) A350-800’s, forty (40) A350-900’s and twenty (20) A350-1000’s to forty three (43) A350- 900’s and thirty seven (37) A350-1000’s. Qatar Airways’ total order for A350 XWB aircraft remains at eighty (80) aircraft.... Read MoreQatar adds Changdu to China services
Qatar Airways announced plans to launch scheduled flights to Chengdu – its sixth gateway in the People’s Republic of China, beginning 19 March next year. The Doha-based airline will operate threeflights- a-week to the capital of Sichuan Province in Southwest China taking its total weekly frequency across the country to 41 non-stop services spread across six cities.... Read MoreQatar boosts Rawanda cargo capacity
Qatar Airlines is seeking to provide extra cargo capacity for local traders thereby boosting government’s efforts to make Kigali a regional hub as well as cut down on transport costs. Ben Mutia, Qatar Airlines commercial manager- Rwanda, says the airline is giving extra cargo capacity for Rwandan traders mainly from Quanzhou, China and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to help them cut costs and increase trade volumes. “Our role in all this is to promote the Rwandan economy, we have been importing sizable cargo to Rwanda and we hope it will increase,” he told the Rawanda Business Times.... Read MoreEmirates SkyCargo opens Lyon and Phuket
Emirates SkyCargo has strengthened its operations in France, with Lyon to become the third French gateway and also in Thailand, with Phuket to become the second Thai gateway that it connects both locations to international trade opportunities across its network of 126 destinations.... Read MoreBulk of India’s cargo carried by foreign carriers
The latest figures from the Indian government show non-Indian carriers flew out 83.1 per cent of international cargo from India in 2009-10, 83.7 per cent in 2010-11 and 82.5 per cent in 2011- 12. Indian carriers marginally increased their presence in this area raising their cargo carriage vis-a-vis their foreign competitors from 16.9 and 16.3 per cent in 2009-10 and 2010-11 to 17.5 per cent in 2011-12, the data showed.... Read MoreIndia’s Spoton plans domestic air cargo service
Spoton, a logistics company wholly owned by private equity firm India Equity Partners, plans to start domestic air cargo services targeting 10-15 per cent annual growth. The company, which has a strong network in the road delivery service, plans to launch the air service in the first quarter of next year, according to Abhik Mitra, managing director, Spoton; and platform CEO, IEP (Logistics Investments).... Read MoreCebu Pacific adds Bali Indonesia
The Philippines’ largest carrier, Cebu Pacific has announced it will soon fly to Bali (Denpasar), Indonesia, its 20th international destination. “CEB will launch its direct service from Manila to Bali on 16 March 2013 just in time for peak summer travel in the Philippines,” said CEB VP for marketing and distribution Candice Iyog.... Read MoreTransAsia Airways gets first A330
TransAsia Airways of Taiwan has taken delivery of the first of two A330-300s on order, marking the first widebody aircraft to be operated by TransAsia. The aircraft will initially fly on services from Taipei to Japan and Singapore. These will be followed by new longer range operations to destinations currently under consideration, including Australia and New Zealand, as well as the Middle East.... Read MoreChina’s domestic air express surges
China’s express couriers are looking to launch their own cargo airlines in the fast-growing domestic express delivery market. Shanghai-based YTO Express Co. said it is applying to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) to launch a cargo airline to alleviate belly payload capacity shortages of domestic airlines. According to YTO Express, it plans to invest CNY5.5 billion (US$875 million) in the new cargo venture over the next 10 years once it secures regulatory approval.... Read MoreChina logistics firms put on ‘no-fly’ list
China Air Transport Association (CATA) has announced its decision to put four domestic logistics firms on its ‘no-fly’ list due to security inadequacies.... Read MoreBeijing launches air cargo e-platform
The first electronic information sharing platform for China’s air logistics industry has commenced operation in Beijing.... Read MoreMAS purchases lease aircraft from AAR
Malaysia Airline System (MAS) has entered into an agreement with AAR and its Joint Venture Portfolio Company to purchase 10 B737-400 aircraft that have been on lease to MAS since they were acquired by the joint venture in July 2007.... Read MoreCargo down 4% in first 10 months: AAPA
Preliminary traffic figures for the month of October released today by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) showed a continuation of established trends, with growth in international passenger traffic, but weakness in air cargo demand. International air cargo demand, expressed in freight tonne kilometre (FTK) terms, declined by 5.8 per cent year-on-year in October, a reflection of overall weakness in air cargo markets. Offered freight capacity was reduced by 6.1 per cent, leaving the average international air cargo load factor almost unchanged at 67.4 per cent.... Read MoreAirAsia X records 13% cargo growth
AirAsia X, the long-haul, low fare airline, has recorded strong growth again in the third quarter of 2012, carrying 7,251 tonnes of freight in the third quarter and 19,714 tonnes for the first nine months of 2012, registering growth of 13 per cent over the first nine months of 2011 for its continuing routes.... Read MoreSecond month of cargo growth in HK
Cathay Pacific Airways and Dragonair have seen a year-on-year increase in cargo and mail tonnage for the second month in a row in October along with a small increase in passenger numbers.... Read MoreBOC Aviation B737s for Lion Air
Singapore-based, Bank of Chinaowned BOC Aviation has concluded a deal with PT Lion Mentari Airlines (Lion Air) for six B737-800 and three B737-900ER aircraft.... Read MoreSIA’s SilkAir orders 54 B737s
SilkAir has finalised an order for 54 Next-Generation B737s and B737 MAX 8s worth US$4.9 billion at list prices.... Read MoreSingapore pushes ATM Centre of Excellence
A key milestone in its plans to turn Singapore into a Centre of Excellence for Air Traffic Management (ATM) was achieved recenlty as the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) sealed four foundational collaboration agreements with leading American and European organisations.... Read MoreSingapore Airlines looks to sell Virgin stake
Singapore Airlines has agreed to sell its 49 per cent stake in Virgin Atlantic to Delta Air Lines for US$360 million which it paid £600.3 million (US$783 million) for in 2000.... Read More
Analysis
China will continue to shape global air cargo
China Southern Cargo’s manager of planning and strategy, business development, Huang Jianwei, gives an analysis of the air cargo market with particular reference to the Chinese market since the industry was thrown into turmoil by the 2008 global financial crisis.... Read More
Logistics
Kerry building customised Daimler facility
Kerry Logistics, the leading global logistics service provider, has started construction of a new purpose-built 33,700 sq. m. automotive parts logistics facility in Kunshan, China for Daimler Northeast Asia Parts Trading and Services Co., Ltd. (“DPTS”), a fullyowned subsidiary of Daimler in China.... Read MoreYCH JV opens new Xiamen DistriPark
Leading regional Supply Chain Company YCH Group officially inaugurated its DistriPark within Xiamen’s Xiangyu Bonded Logistics Park. As part of a Joint Venture with the Xiamen Port Development Co. Ltd, a subsidiary of the Xiamen Port Group, the state-of-the-art, two-storey ramp-up logistics facility – currently Xiamen’s largest state-of-theart warehouse spanning over 54000 sq. metres in built-up area – is now ready to service the various MNC manufacturers and suppliers located within and nearby Xiamen city through its advantage of superior air, land and sea connectivity.... Read MoreDHL Global Forwarding opens Libya office
DHL Global Forwarding, the air and ocean freight specialist within Deutsche Post DHL, has opened its first office in Libya as a faster than expected recovery in oil and hydrocarbon production drives a new era of economic growth. In addition to DHL’s global network, DHL Global Forwarding will offer customers in key sectors - namely, oil and energy, construction, telecommunications and pharmaceuticals - access to international standard services such as documentation handling, customs clearance and warehousing, air and ocean freight, domestic and cross-border trucking.... Read MoreAir Logistics Group opens in Estonia
The global GSSA, Air Logistics Group, continues to expand its network with the recent opening of its 63rd office located in Estonia. The office – managed by Eva Ehvärt, station manager, Baltics – is the latest addition to the extensive network Air Logistics has in Eastern Europe.... Read MoreChina’s logistics sector points to recovery
Spending on freight transport in China is up 11.5 per cent this year as indicators suggest the economy is bouncing back. The total value of goods carried by China’s logistics industry grew by 9.6 per cent year-on-year to reach Rmb146.4 trillion (US$23.27 trillion) in the first 10 months of the year, according to the the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP). The CFLP said in a statement that the growth rate had stayed at the same level for the first nine months, indicating the industry was continuing to stabilise.... Read MoreManchester’s World Logistics Hub approved
The proposed £100 million World Logistics Hub, in the southern part of Greater Manchester’s Airport City Enterprise Zone has been given the green light by local authorities. “World Logistics Hub will attract new international businesses and help existing airport businesses to expand, generating much-needed economic growth and over 1,800 new jobs,” said Manchester Airport Group’s Airport City director, John Atkins.... Read MoreGermany’s Sovereign Speed attains AEO status
Germany-based provider of timecritical transportation solutions, Sovereign Speed, has announced it has been granted the status of ‘Authorised Economic Operator Cus toms Simplifications / Security’ (AEO/ Authorised Economic Operator).... Read MoreLogwin opens new Zhongshan sales office
Logwin, a leading global provider of air and ocean freight and logistics services, has opened a new sales office in Zhongshan, situated in the manufacturing heartland of South China. The new sales office will strengthen Logwin’s network in South China according to its expansion strategy.... Read MoreDHL makes major Thai investment
DHL Supply Chain, the global market leader for contract logistics solutions, today announced an investment of €50 million to further strengthen its market-leading position in Thailand.... Read MoreF.S.Mackenzie adds Midlands office
F.S.Mackenzie – the UK member of the FPS network of independent freight forwarders – has opened its fifth office, located at East Midlands Airport’s cargo terminal. The new office will provide a full range of air- and ocean forwarding services to local customers, with particular emphasis on the company’s well-established ocean NVOCC services, and those of its fellow FPS members. The new F.S. Mackenzie office will also work in close collaboration with its Heathrow counterpart, to generate airfreight business through East Midlands Airport.... Read MoreA.R.T. Logistics opens global HQ in HK
A.R.T. Logistics, a leading project logistics company focused on Central Asia, Russia and the CIS, has opened its global headquarters in Hong Kong. The company works with large multinational companies in the oil & gas, power generation and mining sectors in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Mongolia, Russia, Belarus and has offices in Frankfurt, Lithuania, Russia, Kazakhstan. The company also has representative offices in Europe, US and Africa.... Read MoreSDV opens Singapore ‘Green Hub’
SDV, a global supply chain leader and subsidiary of the Bolloré Group, has opened its new warehousing facility in Singapore. Over the past 20 years, SDV Singapore has strengthened its position by providing value-added transport and logistics solutions for its customers which are major players from the luxury retail industry to the aerospace, healthcare and oil and gas sector, as well as flavour and fragrances.... Read More
News
Work on HKIA’s third runway expected in 2014
The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of expanding Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) into a three-runway system is progressing well and should be completed end of next year, Stanley Hui, CEO of the Airport Authority Hong Kong, said recently. By Wong Joon San.... Read More
Cover Story
Time for the industry to reshape itself: IATA
The air cargo industry must sit down, take stock and collaboratively come up with a new business model and processes that fit the changing realities of the marketplace, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) told reporters at its annual media briefing. Donald Urquhart reports from Geneva.... Read More
Airports & Ground Handling
Size helps WFS ride out the downturn
Being big has its advantages. For ground-handling giant, Worldwide Flight Services (WFS), the impact of the downturn has certainly been felt, but tapping diverse and far-flung markets helps ameliorate the impacts of the downturn WFS EVP and COO, Barry Nassberg tells Payload Asia.... Read MoreWFS wins BAWC contract at Gatwick
Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) has won the contract to provide cargo handling for British Airways World Cargo (BAWC) at London’s Gatwick Airport. The new contract, effective 1 December 2012, will see approximately half of the airline’s cargo team at Gatwick transfer to WFS with the remaining members of the BAWC staff at Gatwick to be offered positions by the airline at London Heathrow.... Read MoreSwissport expands in Africa
Swissport International has signed an agreement with new African lowcost carrier fastjet under which it will provide ground services throughout the airline’s network. Africa’s first pancontinental low-cost carrier (LCC), is set to launch operations later this month in Tanzania’s domestic market, with flights from its Dar Es Salaam base to Kilimanjaro and Mwanza and plans to quickly expand its route network, flying the continent of Africa from north to south and east to west over the next few years. Through an exclusive partnership agreement Swissport will supply a variety of airport services, be responsible for service delivery and support supply chain growth throughout the fastjet network.... Read MoreJAL makes debut in San Diego
Japan Airlines has made its inaugural flight using a new B787 Dreamliner from Tokyo to San Diego International (SAN), the first nonstop service to the airport from Asia. Prior to JAL’s launch of the four-a-week service–which increases to daily from March–San Diego had been the largest US city with no direct flights to Asia.... Read MoreNew Shanghai PVG import data system
A new import air shipment system has been implemented at Shanghai (PVG) airport with immediate effect. All import Customs clearance data on special cargoes, such as frozen cargoes, DG cargoes, valuable goods, live animals or cargoes which need to be stored at the airport, will be handled by ground handlers at a cost of CNY0.3/kg (US$ 0.05/kg). The British International Freight Association (BIFA) has warned that it is likely that the new arrangement will affect the speed for Custom clearance at the airport and that pre-alerts for special shipments (i.e. MAWB, HAWB, cargo manifest) are presented in a prompt manner. The BIFA warned its members to advise their clients never to ship special cargoes with general cargo as additional handling charges will be incurred and the speed of cargo release could be seriously impacted.... Read MoreLiege cargo plummets in October
Liege Airport saw a dramatic drop of 24 per cent in October, compared to October 2011, with 44,114 tonnes of freight compared with 58,489 tonnes a year earlier. The airport said the significant decrease in fuel stops made by Kalitta Air at Liege Airport had a big influence on this traffic decline.... Read MorePax up, cargo down at Changi Airport
While Singapore Changi Airport registered its highest number of passengers for the month of October when 4.27 million passengers were recorded last month, 10 per cent more than in the same period last year, airfreight movements declined eight per cent year-on-year to 150,000 tonnes. For the January to October 2012 period, Changi Airport handled 1.5 million tonnes of cargo, 2.4 per cent less than the same period in 2011. The airport recorded 27,600 flight movements for the month, an increase of 5.2 per cent over October 2011.... Read More
Focus
IBS inks €100M Luftansa Cargo deal
“To be chosen by an iconic airline like Lufthansa is a significant step in our endeavour to make iCargo the No.1 air cargo management solution in the world.” That was a visibly happy V K Mathews, executive chairman of the Trivandrum-based IBS Group, speaking about the tie-up with Lufthansa Cargo AG (LH). Manfred Singh reports from Trivandrum.... Read More
MRO
Mixed results for MRO services
Demand for Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company Limited’s (HAECO) airframe maintenance and line maintenance services in Hong Kong remained strong during the first half of 2012 despite reduced line maintenance services for cargo flights. By Wong Joon San.... Read MoreKorean aims to top aerospace companies by 2020
Korean Air today announced its business objective to become the number one aerospace company in Asia by 2020 through its ‘Aerospace Vision 2020’ which also aims for over three trillion KRW (US$2.8 billion) in Operating Revenue by 2020.... Read MorePEMCO, AEI both win major conversion deals
PEMCO World Air Services and AERGO Capital (AERGO) have announced a 20-aircraft Boeing 737-300/400 passenger-tofreighter conversion programme, which includes aircraft acquisition, bridging maintenance and package financing through a single entity, AERGO Cargo Solutions. The first four aircraft have been identified and are scheduled for induction within the next three months, and will open new markets in South America, Eastern Europe and Northeast Asia to PEMCO’s products.... Read MoreIndia’s MRO sector set to take off
The Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) business in India got a boost recently when news of the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s plan to set up MRO facilities at small and medium airports in the country appeared. But the global downturn and financial turmoil in India’s aviation sector forced a delay – but things are moving again. Manfred Singh reports.... Read More
Belly Ache
This next item is part rant, part rave and part media relations lesson. We recently were in Los Angeles for the annual FIATA congress and while visiting the exhibition area stopped an IT exhibitor’s booth – who shall remain unnamed (simply because my advertising colleague doesn’t want them to be too badly offended…tsche!) although we can say their name rhymes with that delicious Ukrainian specialty, perogy. Ohhhh yes we know…we’re so subtle. And so, we decided to try our luck at winning one of the iPads they were giving away.... Read More
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