Lufthansa Cargo, AiRUnion and Krasnojarsk Airport have signed a Memorandum of Understanding detailing the Germancarrier's use of the Siberian airport in Krasnojarsk. The carrier was pressured by the Russian government to switch its technical stops en route to Asia from Astana, Kazakhstan, to Krasnojarsk. Although Lufthansa had earlier claimed it would take up to a year for the airport to make the necessary upgrades, it now said works will be completed within the next five months and "Lufthansa Cargo will then start regular flight operations via Krasnojarsk." Several test flights to theSiberian airport will begin in June.

Shanghai Airlines has said it has plunged into the red last year because of rising fuel prices and fierce competition. The airline made a net loss of 435.1 million yuan (US$62 million) in 2007, compared with a profit of 9.3 million yuan in 2006,although revenues surged 23 per cent to12.3 billion yuan on the back of strong traffic growth. Th e carrier said tough price competition caused it to lose money on its new Shanghai-Hong Kong route last year, while losses at its new international air cargo subsidiary took 90 million yuan off the airline's bottom line.

Air India has moved up its ranking in air cargo business from ninth to top position in the Indian market following its merger with Indian Air and a revamped strategy which saw a Cargo Strategic Business Unit created following the merger. Th e carrier now commands a 7 per cent market share of all export cargo out of New Delhi, according to figures recently released by the Airports Authority of India.

Siemens AG said it won an order worth about €118 million to build a cargo terminal at Hong Kong International Airport. The new terminal will handle 2.6 million tonnes of cargo per year. This can be increased to over four million tonnes when necessary in future phases, the company said.

Cargolux Airlines International S.A. hasreported a net loss in 2007 after makinga US$155 million provision to cover anypotential liability resulting from EuropeanCommission (EC) anti-trust proceedings.Excluding that factor, it would haveachieved a 24 per cent rise in profit.

China Southern Airlines posted a netprofit of US$113.57 million in the firstquarter compared with a loss of $26.82million, due to strong passenger growthand a stronger yuan. Revenue for the yearrose 18 per cent to $7.97 billion from$6.74 billion.

Changi Airport handled more than466,000 tonnes of airfreight in the first quarter, up 4 percent over the same period ast year. A total of 169,000 tonnes of cargo was moved in March alone. Changi is served by 80 airlines - including 10dedicated freighter carriers - operating more than 4,340 weekly scheduled flights to 188 cities in 59 countries.

The company Aerea de Carga Cargo Three received certification to operate international air cargo flights. After thorough inspections, the group's carrier AirRea will commence operations in the Latin American area.

With more than US$30 million invested in China over the past few years, DHL Global Forwarding has now opened three new branches in mainland China¨C Changsha in Hunan Province, Hefei in Anhui Province and Changchun in Jilin province, all with booming economies and potential in the automotive, manufacturing and electronics industries.

Alaska Airlines' parent Alaska Air Group has reported a widening loss, joining almost every other listed US airline this month. Like its rivals, Alaska cited soaring fuel prices for a dismal financial performance which saw a US$35.9 million loss for the first quarter, more than three times its $10.3 million loss in the same period a year ago. The result included an accounting adjustment for fuel hedging. Without that,the loss would have been $36.3 million.

Indonesia's state-owned carriers Garuda and Merpati Nusantara are reportedly in talks to buy some of grounded rival AdamAir's Boeing 737 fleet. The government last month stripped Adam Air of its operating licence after a string of incidents and safety issues, followed by questions over its financial viability. Th e airline is now effectively out of business. Adam Air operated23 Boeing 737s, primarily leased from GE Commercial Aviation Services and other lessors. About half the fleet was seized unpaid prior to the airline's grounding as lease payments had not been met.

The first two groups of Indonesian aviation safety inspectors have completed training in Australia and returned home to ply their new skills in the country's rapidly-growing aviation sector. The training is part of Australia's ongoing work with Indonesian government agencies to improve overall transport safety in Indonesia.In January, Australian Transport Minister Anthony Albanese signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Indonesian Minister for Transportation, Jusman Syafi'i Djamal, that provides the basis for an A$24million bilateral package of assistance over three years.

Ethiopian Airlines and Lufthansa German Airlines have commenced daily code-share services between Addis Ababa,Ethiopia, and Frankfurt, Germany. The agreement strengthens Ethiopian's position in Germany and other European markets by creating additional possibilities to access traffic through the extensive network of Lufthansa. Ethiopian currently operates three weekly services from Addis Ababa to Frankfurt, while Lufthansa currently flies the route four times weekly.