´The creation of the ‘Cargo Cooperation International Airport Ostend Bruges’ was triggered by the recent acquisition of fuel provider Skytanking by Russian Tafnet. Skytanking held a monopoly in aircraft fuel at the airport. Its price was so exorbitant that it chased Ana Aviation away in 2013 from Ostend to resettle at Liege Airport.

The Provinciale Ontwikkelings Maatschappij (POM) West-Vlaanderen, a vehicle of the province of West-Flanders, acted as a matchmaker between airport operator Egis and the other partners. The platform has attracted shippers like Marine Harvest, Gadus and Neptunus, all major players in the fresh fish industry. 

Fish
The freight forwarding partners are Tulpin, Reemco, Bolloré Logistics, Cilogis, De Ridder-Van Paemel end Chapman-Freeborn. Apart from Egis there are also Aviapartner, Tatneft, EHS en Mainfreight (the former Wim Bosman Logistics Group). Two fish market operators, ‘Vlaamse Visveiling’ and REO-Veiling have also joined the platform. Last but not least, there are the local Chamber of Commerce (VOKA), Flanders Investment & Trade (FIT), Fresh Trade Belgium and the seaports of Ostend and Zeebrugge.

The presence of fresh fish importers and distributors makes clear that perishables like fish, but also vegetables, flowers and fruit are considered an important market. The airport itself can boast dedicated handling facilities and claims a strong value proposition in this niche. At a later stage, possibilities of synergy with the seaports will be explored. Zeebrugge, for one, has a long-standing expertise as fish and seafood logistics port.

E-Commerce
Ostend Airport also wants to participate in the booming e-commerce traffic. The airport has the necessary industrial estates to cope with this growth and is excellently located for fast on-forwarding to Northern-France and the UK.

First of all ‘Cargo Cooperation International Airport Ostend Bruges’ is to be developed as a commercial platform, enabling the airport to go back to its ‘golden age’ of 2005-2007. In those days over 100,000 tonnes were handled each year. Last year, only 16,842 tonnes had remained. Over the first 4 months of this year, the throughput has grown by 84% to nearly 40,000 tonnes.

Marcel Schoeters in Brussels

HNCA and not HNA!
Originally, there were said to have been three separate bidders to take over the debt ridden airport which is situated between Frankfurt and Cologne in the so called Huensruck area.
Then, all three candidates were claimed to have been Chinese investment companies or airline / airport related set-ups.
Finalizing the deal has been delayed due to the local Rhineland-Palatinate elections which took place in March of this year.
After the election it was not clear as to who would have to take up the reins to complete the sale as a so called traffic-light coalition made up from the labour, liberal and green parties has now been formed.

Reliable sources are now insisting that the deal is perfected and that the winner is the Henan Civil Aviation Development and Investment Company - in short - HNCA.
The HNCA was not really on anyone’s radar screen during the past months as it was rumored that HNA - Hainan Airlines Group was a favourite candidate.

HNCA and HNA should not be mixed up.
Although both are Chinese companies on the lookout for investments in the aviation sector throughout the world - they have no affinity to each other whatever.

Double digit sale price?
Secrecy still surrounds what price bidders were willing to pay and what exactly HNCA will end up paying once the deal is inked.
Information on hand indicates however that there is a double-digit million-euro price fixed.
Be it ten, twenty, thirty or whatever million - it’s still not clear.
It is interesting to note that whatever price HNCA end up paying, they can still rely on receiving financial support from the Rhineland-Palatinate state government. This was agreed with the EU Commission whereby financial support of up to 25.3 million euros could be possible up until 2024

HNCA aims to make the Henan region into an international freight hub
The Henan local government has invested heavily into taking a large share in Cargolux Airlines (35%), the Luxembourg-based all freighter operator. The plan is to build Zhengzhou Airport (CGO) into an international air cargo hub by having Cargolux China, a newly formed CV daughter company, operate regular flights into and out of CGO.

Does this now mean that Hahn airport and not Luxembourg will be the European centre for this type of operation?
As far as cost is concerned, it definitely might make more sense.
But, will Cargolux then siphon off part of their large Boeing 747 freighter fleet to Hahn in order to make this come true?
A sticky problem as the carrier has been facing possible strikes from pilots and other CV staff due to their having formed Cargolux Italia with a base in Milan Malpensa.
The unions claimed that this would ensure job losses.
In the meantime both sides came to terms.

The HNA Group, the other bidder, which also owns Yangtze River Express, which until last year operated regular cargo flights from China to Hahn, was earlier this year reported to be the hot candidate to take over HHN.
It is also said that there will be a meeting with all Hahn employees during the coming days in order to explain the details of the deal and introduce the new shop owner.

New prospects for cargo?
The HNCA deal would probably be more beneficial to Hahn and its employees if the HHN-CGO link really gets going.
This would ensure that the airport would get back to having regular cargo flights and large air freight tonnage moving through its doors as a supplement to the passenger business which still centers mainly around Ryanair’s Boeing 737 passenger aircraft operation.

The deal “seems perfect” - but we’ve seen Chinese investors also withdrawing at the very last moment from other deals which were said to be perfect.
This one however looks like it’s “a done deal.”

John Mc Donagh

A modest software developer on the outskirts of Antwerp is adding a new dimension to the complex process of cargo aircraft (un)loading. Its loading plan system ‘Sable’, developed for DHL Aviation, can already share information with the electronic flight bag (EFB). Soon it will be supplemented by the ramp handling system Rols.

Family-owned B.Rekencentra has a staff of 35 and has its operational HQ in Ranst. The company builds software systems for the logistics industry mainly (90%). In the early days of this century the company’s Technical Director Karel Tavernier’s attention was drawn to DHL Aviation’s business area review (BAR) project, including a the major IT-system update. At the time DHL Aviation still had its intercontinental hub for Europe at Brussels Airport.
“Their intention was to substitute as many systems as possible by standardised solutions,” says Karel. “One of the first programmes under scrutiny, was their ‘weight & balance’ (w&s) system. Over the years they had developed their own system in-house. The company was going through a huge expansion and fleet renewal, leaving little room for support.”

Tailor-made solution
After having been contacted by a British consultant, Karel decided to bring B.Rekencentra into the race. “At first, my proposition was turned down, as the update process was already well advanced. We did not have a saleable product to offer either, but we would certainly be able to develop something. On the one hand, most w&b programmes are focussed on passenger aircraft, but on the other hand we had built one for TNT Airways.”
Re-tailoring this solution to the needs of DHL Aviation was no option, as it was a dedicated programme, the ownership of which had been handed over to TNT. The same goes for Sable. Karel: “DHL is still the owner of Sable, but thanks to a deal with them, we are allowed to put in on the market for other prospective users. Sable is totally different from the TNT programme: it is of a new generation, new technology and new set-up.”
In w&b the difference between passenger planes and cargo aircraft is that freighters need to go through a lot more checks than passenger aircraft, especially when main deck is concerned. The way of loading too, is very different.

Load sheet production
The crucial point in loading a cargo plane is the production of a legal load sheet. This is an official document to be approved by the captain before departure. Depending on the aircraft type, there are more or less checks to be carried out, says Karel. ”You will no doubt understand that these have to be performed as quickly as possible. One of the rules is: putting the heaviest containers in the middle.”
Sable works from the manuals of all the aircraft deployed by DHL Aviation, including the subcontractors.  Prior to every flight the scheduled cargo is put into the system or transferred from the warehouse management system (WMS). A distinction is made between containerised and loose freight. An overview is given of both the main and the lower deck.
A very important item is ‘optimal trim’, as it will generate the most economical fuel consumption. Another crucial item is the aircraft’s centre of gravity, which will move along with loading and the configuration. Sable indicates what the possibilities are in this respect, by showing a specific position on the aircraft.

Manual and autoload
Sable can carry out this process either through manual input or via autoload.  The latter was developed by the Ghent campus of the Leuven University. “Autoload provides an optimisation on three levels,” says Karel. “It aims at taking as much cargo as possible (as this generates revenue); going as closely as possible towards the centre of gravity and trying to bring the lateral imbalance as closely as possible to the zero level.”
Apart from the fact that many load planners prefer the manual method as they want to stay in control, there are other reasons for not using autoload. “As yet, the system is unable to calculate the right commercial trim for different legs on one trip. The underlying principle in this respect is: putting the cargo for the furthest destination as far from the door as possible.”
After the load plan has been drafted, Sable performs all checks. If these are not satisfactory, the documentation – the load sheet – cannot be performed. Once approved and produced, the load sheet can be taken to the captain either manually or through ACARS. This is the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System, a digital data link system for the transmission of short messages between aircraft and ground. When delivered through ACARS, the captain can accept the load sheet by electronic signature.

Into the EFB
This information can also be loaded into the Electronic Flight Bag, an iPad-driven device replacing the traditional black ‘tool boxes’ pilots have to drag into their cockpits. Apart from the load sheets, EFB information may also include a list of DG, possible risks, NOTOC (note to the captain), loading plan and fuel. Karel thinks the EFB provides a great opportunity for taking his systems more into the open. “For companies that are already using EFB it is a great add-on.”
Drawing up the load plan is one thing, at the end of the day the plane has actually to be loaded and this is an area prone to mistakes. “For this we have developed ROLS (Ramp Offload and Load Supervisor), the development of which is in its final stage. We are working closely with a launch customer willing to implement the system.” Connected with Sable ROLS will pass on the instructions to the ramp supervisor and the ramp agents. Through his hand held device the supervisor will be able to see at which position the respective cargo is supposed to be loaded. The system will also generate the load sequence. The ramp agent will be informed per individual container to be loaded. Eventually, once the aircraft has been totally loaded, the supervisor will be able to communicate on ramp clearance.

Avoiding ‘nose-ups’
Rols will have two big advantages, says Karel. “Firstly, everything will be positioned at the allocated space, enhancing flight safety. Secondly, during loading there is a constant monitoring of ground stability, checking on the tail-tipping limit. The stability is assessed both when the container is at the door and on its final location in the aircraft.”
A recent survey by IATA has revealed that lots of mistakes are made during loading and unloading, plus the recommendation to do something about that. ROLS is an answer to that recommendation and - once implemented - tail tips will be incidents of the past.
Rols will be driven on a separate server that can receive messages from various w&b systems. For demo purposes and tests, Sable can be downloaded form a Cloud solution run by Accel, another Antwerp-based provider. In the near future, this concept may be interesting for smaller airlines that lack the means to invest in a giant make-over of their systems.
The commercialisation deal with DHL has enabled B.Rekencentra to implement Sable at Atlas Air, Cathay Pacific and Fraport Handling. Recently, the system was also acquired by Qatar Airways Cargo.

Marcel Schoeters in Brussels

We found out that we were not the only media who informed their readers that the new owner was going to be HNCA (see above).

What’s fact - what’s fiction?
Despite denials from HNCA and Cargolux management, we were still not fully convinced that the denials was correct.
Information received on the same day strongly indicated that the other apparent bidder, the HNA Group was no longer really a part of the bidding process which is being run by KPMG.
This, apparently as the HNA bidders were not willing to increase their financial offer.
That did not necessarily mean that HNA were officially out of the process, but indications were that “another bidder” had offered more and the KPMG team were said to be very close to closing.

Another bidder?
Then also last Friday, the name of another potential bidder came out of the woodwork.
A so-called ‘Shanghai Trading Company’.

The new owner
At today’s press conference which was called by the Rhineland-Palatinate local government and lead by their Minister of the Interior, Roger Lewentz, it was revealed that the new owner is Shanghai Yiqian Trading Co. Limited with its base in Shanghai.
They will take a 82.5% holding in Hahn, with the remaining 17.5% still officially in the hands of the State of Hesse which is a majority shareholder in Frankfurt/Main Airport. However, the R-P state indicated that the remaining shares held by Hesse state are expected to be acquired by the new owner as well.

Shanghai Yiqian Trading Co, which was represented today by Dr Yu Tao Chou is said to be a Chinese investment company.
The press release states that the “new owner and its partners are especially active in aviation, logistics and international trade.”
The sale price is quoted as being a low two-digit amount. Rumors are that it is around 10 million euros.
The Rhineland-Palatinate local parliament still has to officially ratify the agreement. This is expected to happen before the start of the summer vacation period.

NEWCO or OLDCO?
Is this just a NEWCO put together by either HNA or HNCA, or another, and acting as a front-man for future owners?
In today’s meeting it was also mentioned that the new owner was in discussion with Yangtze River Express Airlines to convince them to return their freighter services to Hahn which they transferred to Munich in 2015.
Yangtze is owned by the HNA Group - strange!
Roger Lewentz added that the concept of the new owners is to boost both cargo and passenger business at the airport by a close cooperation with Asian partners.
This can be read as meaning Asian airlines, presumably Chinese.
He further confirmed that there had been three bidders and that the choice went to those who the government see as being best suited for developing and expanding business at the airport.

Following the event, CargoForwarder was told unofficially that Shanghai Yiqian intends to utilize Hahn primarely as a European gateway for perishables. But no indication was made about the origin of these produce and which carrier(s) might fly them into or out of HHN. So there are still many questions that remain unanswered.

Markus Bunk, the present CEO of Hahn Airport will remain on seat, it was revealed today. Also mentioned was that Mr Yu Tao Chou from Shanghai Yiqian Trading will become his deputy. That we think, means that as of today the Chinese group is in charge.
Again, the question remains as to whether Shanghai Yiqian Trading will be in charge or acting on behalf of others?

Also, future strategy and commercial plans are not known and whether the airport will become more cargo orientated and what the new owner plans to get the airport back into black figures.

Watch this space!

John Mc Donagh

Under the terms of the agreement, Australia Post and Aramex will enter into an Asian-based joint venture, targeting the global e-commerce market with a particular focus on Asia.
The joint venture will build on the service capabilities of Australia Post’s logistics and freight delivery subsidiary, StarTrack, and Aramex’s global express delivery network. The partnership will also see StarTrack acquire Australian-based courier service Mail Call from Aramex.

Australia enjoys a leap in cross-border parcel volumes
Aramex, whose annual revenues soared by 50% over a four-year period to US$1bn in 2015, has a presence in a number of important markets for Australia, including the Middle East, South East Asia and India.
In a joint statement, the companies said the new alliance will help Australia Post grow the Australian e-commerce market, capturing more inbound e-commerce parcel volumes and providing a platform for outbound growth, particularly for Australian small businesses.
The partnership is reflective of the 20% annual growth in cross-border parcel volumes in Australia, which is measured against slowing domestic parcel growth and international competitors entering the Australian market.

Nol van Fenema

The summit meeting which was held in Barcelona, Spain last week had a central theme: how to best combat global food wastage in the cool chain.

The message sent was that there should be a much closer collaboration with shippers in order to achieve much less wastage.
It has been estimated that almost a third of all foodstuffs produced each year, equivalent to 1.3 billion tonnes, is wasted, damaged or lost, which amounts to an additional cost of almost US$1 trillion within the supply chain.

A staggering and scandalous amount cost-wise as well as on foodstuffs.
The figures shown above must have shocked the delegates at the CCA meet into action as it seems that they all were in agreement of looking for a common aim to cut down wastage by around 10 percent within the coming nine to ten years.

Information posted by the CCA management  shows that if they were able to achieve the above, then at least 250,000 tons or the equivalent of US$1 billion would be saved. Apart from that, at least one million tons fewer on CO2 emissions would also be achieved.

How to do it?
All were in agreement that this move is of utmost importance - however, there is no easy answer or formula on the table as to how one should or could get the process moving.
Sebastian Scholte, CCA’s chairman stated that “food wastage is a major issue and one which we must focus on as an industry. Working together, we can find ways to fight back and make a difference, whilst at the same time adding value to the supply chain.”

The wastage becomes more apparent when one looks at the figures.
For example, the 2015 report which showed that alone in the United States, US$2120 million is spent on producing foodstuffs and processing them along with transporting and getting rid of the same, which is never to be consumed.
That alone represent just over one percent of the annual U.S. GDP.
The unused, uneaten foodstuffs are either thrown into large wastage dumps or even not harvested by farmers because there is no demand.

So far, no answer, but a collective commitment to tackle the problem and come up with viable solutions.
The question remains - who is going to take the lead within the cool-chain to ensure the momentum does not falter?
Surely, the Cool Chain Association, which does an admirable job, needs heavy support from local governments and not be left to do it alone.

John Mc Donagh

Taurus Littrow Valley North, Rock 45. This might become the first mail address on the Moon receiving a DHL parcel coming from Earth. However, the transports will be offered only one way and presumably without money back guarantee for the sender and also without a fixed running time.

MoonMail
People eager to send their pictures, a greeting card or some mementos to “Rock 45” or any other preferred lunar crater, valley or mare are welcome to do so. This might trigger a rush because goods shot to the Moon will most likely survive their senders, making them immortal in a way. “We expect great demand once this new service is available,” CargoForwarder Global was told by a DHL manager.
The “MoonMail” announcement was made during Berlin’s recent air show ILA and some attendees might have thought of a joke at the beginning of the project’s presentation. But they soon realized that it is meant absolutely seriously. “As a matter of fact we want to stimulate people to engage in outer space affairs and encourage them to take part in exploring the universe,” states DHL’s spokesperson Dan Mc Grath.

Gateway to the Moon
DHL is one of the partners pushing the project forward and making it known worldwide. The others are Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based Astrobotic Technology and Airbus Defence and Space, the world's second largest space company. The Airbus unit will contribute initial engineering support to Astrobotic through a Memorandum of Understanding, as the company advances its lunar lander design to a preliminary design review. Bart Reijnen, Senior VP of On-Orbit Services & Exploration of Airbus Defence and Space stated: “we regard Astrobotic as the front runner in commercial lunar transportation services. With our signed Memorandum of Understanding we have now the opportunity to assess options to further strengthen this cooperation and to become a true partner in the global endeavor to provide a commercial gateway to the Moon.”

‘Peregrine’ Lunar Lander
The DHL Group will become the "Official Logistics provider for Astrobotic's First Mission to the Moon." DHL will provide logistics services for Astrobotic's spacecraft and its customer payloads, making sure that all materials for the new lunar lander as well as the 'space freight' will arrive safe and on time to begin their journey to the Moon,” said Arjan Sissing, Senior Vice President, Global Brand Marketing, Deutsche Post DHL Group. He went on to say: “DHL was founded in 1969, the year of the first moon landing. Today, we are excited to be embarking upon this incredible venture into the next era of logistics - beyond Earth and to the Moon.”
According to Astrobotoc, their multifaceted spacecraft called “Peregrine” Lunar Lander can transport a payload of up to 265 kilograms. It will be powered by an Aerojet Rocketdyne propulsion system. During orbit and landing, the Peregrine lander employs cameras, inertial measurement units (IMUs) and technology that measures distance by illuminating the target sight with lasers to ensure a delivery within 100 meters of the intended location.
To leave Earth and reach the Moon’s orbit, the trio intends to cooperate with Elon Musk’s private SpaceX project, using one of the company’s advanced rockets.

Heiner Siegmund

How much this latest scoop has cost fast growing Sovereign is not disclosed, but it can be assumed that they paid a very modest price for getting the say at CargoWorker 24 since the handling agent and forwarder went broke last January.

CW-24 had Russian proprietors 
Most likely, the strained relations between the west and Russia, particularly the former trading partner’s reciprocal embargo policy sent CW-24’s business south. This because Russian investors had put a lot of money into CargoWorker 24, in an attempt to capture growing shares of cargo handling activities in Frankfurt and – even more importantly – establish CW-24 as a leading operator for fast trucking air freight shipments between Rhine-Main airport and Moscow. This strategy went to ashes, after the formerly close trading relations between the EU and Russia were sharply reduced as reaction to the Kremlin’s illegal annexation of the Crimea peninsula in the Black Sea and the Moscow-initiated hybrid war in the eastern parts of the Ukraine.
To put it in a nutshell: CargoWorker 24 became a victim of the economic and political tensions between Russia and the West, leading to the insolvency of the agent last January.

Lachs gets Horse Inn contract in Liege
Liege Air Cargo Handling Services (LACHS) has won a three year contract to manage the so called ‘Horse Inn’ at Liege Airport.
The Horse Inn was created for the well-being of horses which are to be transported by air from LGG and also as an accommodation for them whilst in transit by road.
The facility cost in total €2.6 million.
LACHS runs dedicated horse charters as well as arranging the transport of the animals on line flights. The company claims a widespread experience in this field and LACHS General Manager, Yossi Shoukroun stated “the transport of horses for pleasure and sport is a rapidly growing market, and air travel makes the horse’s lives easier.“
Liege Airport has also recruited the help of two well-known show jumping experts, Gregory Wathelet and Felix-Marie Brasseur, who have been asked to help promote LGG as a leading airport for horse transportation.

Hong Kong’s Hactl reaches 40
The Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Ltd (Hactl) is now celebrating its 40th birthday.
Formed in May of 1976, Hactl is one of the first independent airport handlers, which lead the trend for airlines to move from self-handling and outsource to companies such as Hactl.
The original Hactl warehouse was opened at the old HKG Kai Tak Airport.
Already after the first six months after start up, Hactl was handling a total of 40 airlines, 15 freighters and over 750 tonnes of cargo daily.
The then Kai Tak-based handler quickly moved into being one of the world’s top ten handlers.
A second terminal was opened despite tight space, at Kai Tak in 1991.
When Chep Lap Kok Airport was moved to in 1998, Hactl had already invested a massive US$1 billion in a new state-of-the-art cargo handling terminal.
It has 3,500 ULD storage positions along with 10,000 loose cargo handling storage bays.
What will the next 40 years bring?

Kerry Logistics takes Apex Maritime
The U.S.-based Apex Maritime along with their affiliated companies (APEX), who have their HQ in San Francisco, have been taken over by Kerry Logistics, who are said to be Asia’s leading logistics service provider.
APEX which was founded back in 1990 is one of the top three so called Non-vessel Operating Common Carriers (NVOCC) ranked by Asia to U.S. import volumes.
The acquisition is seen as being an important part of Kerry Logistics long-term expansion in international freight forwarding.
Kerry, with its core operations in Asia, sees this move as being important in strengthening their international service capability within the region

Jan de Rijk renews AF-KL cargo Scandinavia contract
Air France-KLM Cargo seems happy with Jan de Rijk Logistics as their partner for road feeder services in Scandinavia.
The Franco-Dutch carrier has just renewed the present trucking contract for a further undisclosed period with de Rijk.
They will connect the Amsterdam hub with the many AF-KL cargo stations in Denmark and Sweden by operating daily overnight LTL services between the three countries.
Jan de Rijk is no stranger to Scandinavia as they already offer daily LTL services from there to the Netherlands for various industrial clients.
The de Rijk service network covers not only Sweden and Denmark, but the whole Scandinavian area.

Qantas Cargo adds Dallas/Fort Worth to its network
The Australian carrier says that DFW will be added to its dedicated Boeing 747-400F network as of June 9th.
The 747 freighters that Qantas Cargo use are operated by Atlas Air.
The Dallas stop is part of a triangular routing from Australia, through China and onto the USA.
Qantas also has traffic rights for cargo transportation from China to the USA and claims to have a five percent hold on that market segment.
The flight will arrive Thursday mornings in DFW as it is claimed that a mid-week service is more suitable for deliveries into the U.S. from China for electronics, e-Commerce and general cargo.
Qantas also has daily Sydney - Dallas Fort Worth Airbus A380 passenger flights which carry considerable tonnage on the route.
Gareth Evans, QF International and Freight CEO, sees this as being an ideal way to offer main-deck capacity for oversize shipments such as mining and aerospace equipment.

John Mc Donagh

Good news for Hermann Zunker, LH Cargo’s Director Africa: his and his team’s workload will soon go up. Which might sound like a threat to many is rather sweet music in Hermann’s ears since the upcoming Cape Town flights will increase the uplift capacity by roughly 45 tons each week LH Cargo can offer local South African forwarding agents. “The CPT flights strengthen our presence in South Africa where we traditionally have a very strong position,” Herr Zunker states. This is proven by the daily Boeing 747-400 passenger flights on the route Frankfurt-Johannesburg and back, four freighter MD-11 services on the same route with intermediate stops in Nairobi and seasonal pax flights Munich-Cape Town during the summer period south of the equator, utilizing an A340.


Despite the lasting lack of growth, Africa’s traditional economic powerhouse is hit by, Zunker is quite optimistic to generate sufficient loads to fill the lower deck compartments of the upcoming A340 Cape Town flights. “Northbound, we see a lot of opportunities for the entire product range of perishables but also for automotive parts that we intend to capture a larger share of,” he says.
Indeed, there are numerous plants in the Western Cape Province, best known for their many prestigious wineries, that produce components and accessories for European car makers.

Uneconomic trucking over longer distances
According to manager Zunker, up to now, the company’s supplies are mostly trucked to Johannesburg where they are loaded on board a plane to be flown out. So far, only 20 percent of South Africa’s total air exports are processed via Cape Town International. This, despite the fact that “the airport is much closer to the dense regional industry than Johannesburg, which makes it more reasonable and cheaper to bring the items there instead of trucking them all the way to distant O.R. Tambo Airport,” he proposes a gradual change of supply chains. 

Stable rate situation
LH Cargo knows the local market quite well due to the seasonal Munich flights but also because the airline used to serve the Frankfurt-Cape Town sector until their cancellation in 2014 (???). “The Cape Provinces are no unknown territory to us,” Zunker holds. “We maintained close relations to many of the forwarding agents doing business in Cape Town who continued being our customers even though we stopped operating the FRA-CPT flights for some time.”
As to imports, he expects machinery parts, IT equipment, pharmaceutical and alike products to stand on top of the agenda. “Competition is tough but I expect to capture a reasonable share of the cargo traffic to and from Cape Town once we commence serving this route.”
Touching the rate situation Zunker states: “Our services rendered together with our capacity offerings, reliable operations and long-time experience gained in different African sub-markets make us competitive despite occasional rate fluctuations.”

Kenya and Egypt perform well, LH Cargo
Asked about Nairobi, another African hot spot served by the German cargo crane he reports a “very satisfying business developing from January until now.” “The local flower and vegetable market is dominated by five or six large forwarding agents that we closely cooperate with. “Our approach geared towards sustainable customer relations pays off,” he emphasizes. Currently, LH Cargo operates five weekly MD-11 freighter flights linking Frankfurt with Nairobi and a Boeing 737 passenger flight operated by Swiss partner Private Air. As of next September the 737 will be replaced by an A340 belonging to the LH fleet. 
Touching other local African market served by his carrier Hermann say that in addition to South Africa and Kenya, the Egyptian market is running well too. In contrast, oil dependent countries like Nigeria are hit by significant financial cuts since energy prizes have sagged lately, forcing governments to cut their investments in infrastructure projects. “This is clearly perceptible when being there.”
The slump some oil exporting African countries go through is hardly felt by his airline, he says because “our traffic to Nigeria and other energy-rich sub-Saharan places is rather limited.”

Heiner Siegmund

Members of R-P’s government presented at a long-awaited press conference last Monday (6 June) the Chinese investor Shanghai Yiqian Trading Co. Ltd (SYT) as winner of the yearlong tender. That day, everybody attending the briefing thought, that Hahn’s future would be safe, without the need to be subsidized any longer by tax payers. However, only 5 days later, doubts are outweighing the optimistic expectations, shedding pale light on the deal.
 
Who is Chou?
Right after the pact was inked, many raised the question who Yu Tao Chou really is and on whose behalf he is acting, since not much is known about him and his company. All that can be confirmed at this stage is that he acts as SYD’s chief representative vested with decision-making powers and that Chou was a former pilot flying for all-cargo carrier Yangtze River Express. That’s about it.
Shortly after signing the Hahn contract, first doubts came up about Chou’s origin. Some claim he is a Chinese national, other sources say he has a Taiwanese passport. No word from him on that. In contrast, he presented big plans to revitalize Hahn as a hot spot for cargo and distribution center for consumer goods flown in from China. In addition, he announced the return of carrier Yangtze River Express by transiting their operation from MUC back to HHN.
 
Yangtze River Express contradicted Chou’s announcement
Asked if Yangtze intends taking this step, their Marketing Manager Wang Bo denied any such plans. “The customer demand declined, that’s why we left Hahn and switched our traffic over to Munich instead,” he explains. Wang Bo added to this that he never heard of a mister Yu Tao Chou or his enterprise Shanghai Yiqian Trading.
Yangtze River Express was Hahn’s largest client, accounting for about 30 percent of the airport’s cargo throughput. After swapping their traffic from HHN to MUC in mid-2015, the tonnage at Hahn declined massively.
This all reminds very much on the fate of Luebeck Airport located close to the Baltic Sea in Northern Germany. In 2014, Chinese national Chen Yongqiang, owner of a company named PuRen, took over the airport. He announced to turn the place into a huge training center for young Chinese pilots. Yongquang spoke of 5,000 student pilots he’d bring to Luebeck each consecutive year to achieve a private pilot license there. This would need well over hundred training aircraft, many instructors and technical personnel. In September of 2015, Luebeck declared itself insolvent. So much to the promises and high-flying plans of Chinese firm PuRen and its boss Chen Yongqiang. 

It seems, the deal lacks credibility
Not only Wang Bo has ever heard of a company named Shanghai Yiqian Trading, also his colleague Yu Yang declined knowing the firm. However, Yangtze’s head of staff management confirmed that Chou is standing on the carrier’s payroll. “He continues being one of our pilots,” Yang stated. An active pilot, signing a multi-million airport investment? Very strange.
Fact is that SYT is recorded in Shanghai’s trade register since November 4, 2013 with an initial capital of 500,000 Yuan (€67,000). Not really a treasure, though. Asked about his firm’s business and financial resources Chou said that SYT is closely cooperating with a construction company named Guo Qing Qin Huang Island, a specialist in airport matters. However, local Shanghai sources denied knowing this enterprise that even doesn’t have an own website.
These irritating and controversial jigsaw pieces make the Hahn-SYT pact very mysterious, to say the least. The key question is, how Chou and his firm or their backers will manage to finance the million euro Hahn commitment in view of their own rather poor monetary resources, measured on SYT’s nominal capital. Did others, whose interests remain in the dark, have pushed him as dummy into the spotlight? Big question mark.
It’s the obligation of Rhineland-Palatinate’s politicians to deliver credible answers – the sooner, the better!

Heiner Siegmund

It can be imagined that sour faces prevailed after CEO Peter Gerber together with Executive Board members Alexis von Hoensbroech, Soeren Stark and Martin Schmitt presented the staff their intended cost-cutting program. Their sad message they delivered to the attendees and Lufthansa Cargo's total workforce of 4,600 headcount was the intended cutting of 700 to 800 jobs, although most of them through early retirement or natural fluctuation. However, some of the employees also applauded this step, knowing about the precarious financial position Lufthansa’s cargo daughter is facing since months. Although the job cuts was the most discussed issue, the LH Cargo management raised hopes of better times ahead by presenting a comprehensive strategy named CARGO eVOLUTION. This masterplan is based on four pillars: 

To renew and strengthen the core business
LH Cargo emphasizes that the intention is to grow, together with their customers. They aim to achieve this by concentrating on new products and innovative solutions together with launching a stiff cost-cutting program called C40. This plan is expected to reduce expenditures by €80 million annually, mainly as a result of job cuts. “These job cuts will be as socially acceptable as possible,” the airline says.
The result will be a leaner organizational structure, based on customer needs. “C40 will help us achieve competitive unit costs,” reads their release. The management also intends making it significantly easier to deal with LH Cargo by making processes more efficient at customer interface. The carrier reassures: Lufthansa Cargo’s global network reach and capacity offer will not change as a consequence of C40.

Open up new customer segments
The freight airline also wants to target new customer groups and focus on introducing new services and products. “Starting in summer, we will also be offering solutions to private customers for their transport needs. Furthermore, we are investing in the growing segment of e-commerce-driven transportation,” LH Cargo states.

Expand partnerships
Making the network more attractive and widening the reach is the next point stated in the carrier’s C40 strategy. This shall be accomplished by relying on their own freighters and the network served by the MD-11Fs together with the B777Fs, but also by marketing the belly capacities of Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines and Eurowings. In addition to this, the ties with network partners ANA, United Airlines and Cathay Pacific, based on metal neutrality, will be deepened. 

Lead digitization
Last but not least, Lufthansa Cargo wants to push digitization forward. “We lead the way when it comes to digitization in airfreight,” is their statement. “We want to digitize our core processes and touch points with all of our key partners.” This will increase quality, speed and efficiency within the transport chain. “We are targeting the future potential offered by new technology such as cloud solutions and we want to play a pioneering role within the entire industry in this area.”

The details of the C40 program presented today are the carrier’s reaction to the massive drop in profits. While in the financial year 2014, LH Cargo posted an Ebit of €123 million, last year earnings fell dramatically to €3 million, mainly due to an ongoing overcapacity and throat cut competition but also as a result of the many strike actions the entire airline has suffered from. 

Heiner Siegmund  /  Michael Taweel 

Aviation investments continue unabated
HNA is now being seen as a possible 49.99 percent shareholder in Servair, which is Air France’s on-board catering unit. The French carrier is quoted as saying that they are in exclusive negotiations with the Hainan-based conglomerate for a speedy handover of almost 50 percent of the catering company.

The discussions seem to have gone so far that Air France is willing to hand over operational control of the unit by HNA once the deal goes through.
Servair has been valued at around €475 million.
If the deal goes through as planned, this will be HNA’s second acquisition in the airline catering sector after their recent takeover of the Swiss caterer Gategroup last month.
That deal is reported to have cost the Chinese group USD1.4 billion.
The Gategroup acquisition still has to be ratified, but once done, along with the Servair holding, HNA and Air France intend to build what they see as the leading catering platform for inflight catering services.

Virgin Australia gives 13% stake to HNA
The Chines group has also set its eyes firmly on ‘down-under’ by pushing ahead to acquire 13 percent of the Virgin Australia Group for an amount of AUD159 million.
The deal still has to be passed by both Australian and Chinese regulatory bodies and once done will allow HNA to have a seat on Virgin’s board of directors.
HNA is reported to have an option to increase their holding up to 19.9 percent.

Virgin and HNA will start looking at direct operations between Australia and China and also cooperate together on passenger code-shares and frequent flyer programs.
It is interesting to note that due to HNA’s shareholding, the shares of other carriers in Virgin Australia will fall considerably.
Air New Zealand from 25.9% to 22.5%, Singapore Airlines from 22.8% to 19.8% and Etihad Airways from 24.2% down to 21%.

HNA on the road to becoming an aviation giant
The HNA group started its career in 1993 and in the just over 20 years since its inception has grown as one of China’s leading aviation, logistics and tourism giants.
It boasts well over 180,000 employees and a 2015 revenue of RMB 190 billion.
It ranks as number four in Chinese aviation and number 99 in the top 500 Chinese enterprises.
It owns around 12 - 13 airlines in China, two of which, Yangtze River Express and former Turkish MyCargo Airlines are all freighter carriers.
In total the HNA Aviation Group has a fleet of more than 820 aircraft with which they serve almost 700 domestic and international routes.

The acquisition of Zurich-based ground handler Swissport, which has a strong worldwide network of airport passenger, ground handling and cargo handling operations, has given HNA a first taste of entering into the international airport handling scene.

John Mc Donagh

The move follows the transition of Delta Cargo responsibilities to Air France-KLM Cargo in Belgium last month, in line with their one roof strategy within their transatlantic joint venture commercial and operational framework. The airlines’ customers will benefit from easier single drop-off and collection points as well as an extensive route network, reads a joint release.

Integration pays off
Delta Cargo and Air France Cargo began the one roof initiative at Paris-Charles de Gaulle in February 2015 to offer better value for customers and enhance the competitive position of the Delta/Air France-KLM and Alitalia partnership. According to the carriers, transit times of shipments moving between flights and trucks have been improved, allowing customers to drop off and recover their goods in the same location for all three carriers. 
The successive integration of sales and services rendered by the carriers further cements their cooperation in the context of their North Atlantic Joint Venture (NAJV), offering the market metal neutral capacity. “We aim to provide our customers a service where in general it really doesn’t matter if their goods are flown on board a Delta, Air France or KLM aircraft since our operational processes from the hubs are all aligned. Our goal is to offer metal neutral solutions for our customers from these stations, stresses Gert Jan.

Aligning processes comes first
Which European sub-market stands next on the agenda to follow the examples of Belgium France and Germany, he doesn’t tell. Before further widening the scope and integrating other stations, it is important to even further align and enhance our joint processes.
He adds to this that AF-KL Cargo recently launched a state-of-the-art track and trace tool for all flights operated at CDG and AMS for both AF-KL but also the DH operated flights. “This is a good example how we offer a seamless JV experience to our clients
Last word from Kristin Colvile, Managing Director – Delta Cargo Revenue Management and Sales Development: “As we progress towards a fully-integrated AF/KL/DL sales force in Europe, we will provide our customers with a combined transatlantic network. It covers all major cargo markets in the U.S. and Europe, offering more flexibility and convenience with a one-stop shop for all their cargo needs.”

Heiner Siegmund

Is there a shift upwards in growth?
Probably not, as the April figures, as noted by the Dutch based WorldACD, show that April was cargo friendly due to having five Fridays and Saturdays in the calendar compared to April last year.

Is there then still too much capacity compared with stagnating demand from the market?
If we just look at the international air cargo movements for Q1 of this year, then one might think this is the case.
A comparison of FTK’s flown compared with available FTK’s (AFTK’s) shows quite some disparity.
The FTK’s flown were down by 1.2% for the first quarter and surprisingly the AFTK growth for the same period was up by 6.1%.

The growth in capacity on offer was most noticeable on the African continent.
Here AFTK’s rose by almost 25%, followed by the Middle East with an increase of 11.1%.
However, FTK’s flown in Africa were down by 1.3% but rose by 6.3% in the Middle East region.
The “milk-run” routes on the Asia Pacific show almost minus 5% on FTK’s compared to just a 4% increase on capacity on offer.

Cargo still holding its own?
One could imagine so although the continued decline on cargo flown on the Asia Pacific routes is a worrying sign and can and probably will reflect of trade movements throughout the rest of the world.

But, are we too pessimistic?
Going back to the April figures and the start of Q2, the picture may be seen as being brighter for the coming months.
FTK growth was +3.1% with the AFTK’s on offer almost on par to the first quarter (+6.2%) in almost all regions.

Sluggish demand continues
There is definitely a lot capacity on offer and this trend will not noticeably slow down throughout the rest of this year as carriers continue to receive new long haul aircraft to cater for continued rising passenger demand but which offer better range and even better cargo (tonnage) capacity.
Remember - IATA sees the April growth as follows: “while growth appears to be stronger than in the preceding months of 2016, this is largely due to the disappearance from the comparison data of distorting factors associated with the 2015 strike at seaports on the U.S. West Coast.”

All in all, air cargo demand remains pretty sluggish and is again lagging behind in the high growth being experienced on the passenger side.
That’s not too bad either as carriers report higher passenger figures and revenues and this year’s prognosis shows most airlines heading for growing black figures in their books.

That gives cargo somewhat more breathing space and does not put it too much in the (negative) limelight.

Although the cargo figures and trends should worry airline managers into thinking where they might best readjust their sales.

John Mc Donagh

CHEP get Air Austral contract
The French carrier Air Austral, which is based on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean, has awarded CHEP Aerospace Solutions a five year ULD management contract.
The airline recently took delivery of its first Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, making it the first French carrier to operate this aircraft. It also has three Boeing 777 aircraft in its fleet.
The choice to use CHEP to manage its ULD contingent was made because of what they see as CHEP’s unique pooling model to drive efficiency and reduce costs.
Jean-Jaques Roy, Air Austral VP Ground Operations and Security stated that “our partnership with CHEP provides us with immediate cost savings as we don’t have to buy ULD’s for our new Dreamliners.”
CHEP Aerospace President, Dr. Ludwig Bertsch remarks that “Air Austral is a perfect fit for our network particularly for our leisure carrier customers due to the overlap of destinations which further increases the synergies of our ULD pooling model.”

Jettainer to introduce new products during transport logistic China
The Frankfurt based ULD management company will be presenting what they term as
“a garden of innovations“ at this year’s international trade fair ‘transport logistics China’ which starts this week in Shanghai.
In a pre-release, Jettainer states that innovations to be introduced are related to the ULD device itself as well as an enhancement of the company’s IT landscape connected with the software and accessibility on mobile devices.
Martin Kraemer, Jettainer’s Head of Marketing & PR says that “with a large range of new developments, we want to convince other airlines of the benefits of outsourcing their ULD management. Many companies are not yet aware of this concept or its costs saving potential.“

EXCLUSIVE - Etihad introduces freighter service at Brussels Airport
Etihad Crystal Cargo, the cargo arm of the Arabian carrier has touched down at Brussels Airport with an all-cargo Airbus A330F. The BRU-AUH sector will be served twice a week. The company has been a customer of the airport since 2006, at first starting with the route Abu Dhabi-Brussels-Toronto. Later the airline decided to serve Toronto directly from its home base. Today the passenger service offers eicht direct flights a week between Brus-sels and the capital of the United Arab Emirates. 

Air Algerie gets a Boeing 737-700C
The Algerian national carrier ordered two Boeing 737-700 converted freighters from Boeing and has now received the first one.
The -700C program was launched way back in 1997, but since then only three commercial (excluding military variants) aircraft have been delivered. Mostly to niche operators in the oil and gas industry. Saudia Arabia’s ARAMCO company took two of these in 2001 and an Angolan oil & gas operator called Sonair, took one aircraft. This one has in the meantime been reconverted for passenger work and is used by TAAG Angola.
Air Algérie aims to utilize both their B737-700s exclusively for scheduled freighter services in the North African and Middle East regions for a new stand-alone cargo unit.

SF Express revises its IPO plans
The Shenzhen-based SF Express which also owns SF Airlines has made it known that they are revising their previously published plans for an IPO.
The aim now is to do a reverse takeover of another existing firm, which is listed and not pursue their original IPO target.
America’s Wall Street journal has reported that the Chinese logistics giant is having plans to effect merger with Maanshan Dingtai Rare Earth & new Materials Co. This is seen as being a complex deal that involves so-called asset swaps and a new share insurance.
The new company will, it is reported, have a share value of around US$6.61 billion.
The action has apparently been filed with the Shenzhen stock bourse.
SF Express rival, YTO express also went down this road by planning to take over the Chinese automative company, Zheijiang IDC fluid Control for an amount said to be US$2.44 billion.
 
UAE’s Salam Aviation gets Boeing 737-400F
Salam Aviation which is a UAE/US based aviation asset consultancy company, took delivery of an ex Tarco Air Boeing 737-400F. PEMCO World Air Services converted the aircraft from its original passenger configuration.
It has so far not been revealed as to who will be operating the freighter, but PEMCO has stated that it will be in the air in normal cargo operations in the next weeks.

Oman Air select Menzies Aviation as Oman handler
The Omani national carrier has decided to select the British airport ground handling com-pany Menzies Aviation to help it set up its ground handling entity in Oman.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed last week between both companies and after a prearranged due diligence period, both Oman Air and Menzies intend to complete the regulatory issues needed to get the deal moving.
Introduction of the agreement is expected towards the end of this year and will encom-pass a total of nine Omani airports including Oman Air’s main hub at Muscat Airport.

Trans Avia Export gets first B747-300 freighter
Trans Avia Export, a freight carrier based at Minsk Machulishci Airport has now added a Boeing 747-300 freighter to their fleet.
A rarity in aviation circles. The B747-300 was originally delivered to the long defunct Belgian carrier, Sabena, back in 1990 and was the last of the few Boeing 747-300 series aircraft ever built.
The aircraft was recently registered as $L-ACE with the Georgian carrier TCA - The Cargo Airlines who are based in Tbilisi.
The B747-300F will join the fleet of the Belarus carrier’s two B747-200Fs.

John Mc Donagh  /  Marcel Schoeters

“Our new service in Paderborn contributes to the further acceleration of imports and exports at the business location in Eastern Westphalia,” says Ulla Kuntze, Regional Director of Sales & Freight Handling at Lufthansa Cargo.
LH Cargo’s two German hubs in Frankfurt and Munich give the carrier access to over 300 worldwide destinations.
We spoke with Managing Director Marc Cezanne of Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport about the role cargo plays at PAD:

Q: Up to now, PAD hasn’t been a big dot on the cargo landscape. This is obviously changing documented by LH Cargo’s announcement to run an own station at the airport and line-haul flights by Bulgarian cargo carrier Bright Flight that commenced only weeks ago. What has made your place becoming increasingly attractive for air freight?

A: Within the region, we have the necessary demand and freight volumes as well as the infrastructural possibilities to create an attractive cargo offer at Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport. This fact had to be established in the market. You may find a variety of successful industrial companies within our catchment area, including global players such as automobile suppliers like Benteler or Hella, agricultural machinery manufacturer Claas as well as automobile manufacturer VW. The stationing of the Bright Flight aircraft in March and the scheduled opening of the air cargo station for Lufthansa Cargo are the first fruit of our labour.

Q: How much cargo throughput do you expect for this year, both trucked and flown shipments?

A: At this point in time, it’s difficult to point out concrete numbers. We aim to surpass the tonnage of 304 tons (flown) in 2015. Regarding the volume relation, trucked air freight will play a significantly bigger role according to our current plans. But the regular operations of the Bright Flight aircraft have started quite successfully, we feel very optimistic about that. The Antonov AN-26B with its transport volume of around 5.5 tons is ideal for short-notice assignments such as transporting parts for the automobile or machine manufacturing industries. Due to the good order situation here, Bright Flight is currently operating with 3 aircraft.
In addition to this ad-hoc service, the airline BinAir serves cargo deliverance 5 times a week from PAD.

Q: Where do you see your future role in air cargo – more as a consolidation center for trucked freight or goods flown in and out directly? Kindly specify.

A: We would like to expand in both areas and offer an attractive cargo service for our customers. The near future will definitely see more air freight being transported from PAD via truck than aircraft. But experience has taught us that charter airlines like to make use of our infrastructures. Urgent deliveries and special cargo projects can be realised a lot smoother via our airport than at the big hubs. A lot is possible with regards to our equipment. In addition, there are no slot restrictions, waiting times or night flight restrictions.

Q: The future of regional airports is very much contested lately. Some went broke, others were taken over by foreign investors like Hahn last week, with the “rest” being dependent on public subsidies. Where is PAD’s place within this landscape and by what means do you want to secure a safe future for Paderborn-Lippstadt Airport without asking taxpayers year after year to cover the deficits.

A: This discussion is leading nowhere, especially since regional airports cannot be generalised. We are one of the most economic airports in Germany and not that far off from breaking even with a very good operating result – even though we are investing for the future, especially in new equipment for the fire department and snow-plowing service. This is where we receive investment grants. We are firmly established within the German airport landscape and will continue to hold our own.

Q: Kindly explain what role air freight is playing in your strategic plans.

A: Air freight will play a more important role than in the past. We are not just developing this area, but also expanding in general. There is a lot of developing potential within our strong economic catchment area. This catchment area including Southern Westphalia, Eastern Westphalia, North Hesse and South Lower Saxony is one of the top 5 economic regions in Germany. To this purpose, we are soon launching our own cargo homepage and will extend the sales activities for the cargo operations.

Compiled by John Mc Donagh  /  Heiner Siegmund

It was Anke Giesen, Chairwoman of Fraport AG Operations, that reminded the audience on the historic circumstances 65 years back in her welcoming address. When BARIG was founded in 1951, only 15 airlines landed at Frankfurt Airport, carrying 260,000 passengers and 15,000 tons of air freight that year. During those early days far-sighted airline managers recognized the importance of aviation, anticipating the impending enormous upswing of the industry. How right their vision was is shown today, proven by 61 million passengers and 2.1 million tons of freight counted last year at Rhine-Main airport.
In her laudation, Anke stressed the BARIG commitment from day one to further developing air freight matters. By founding the sub-group BARIG Cargo Committee, it became visible that air freight is not just a by-product in aviation but an essential part of it. Also, BARIG’s active involvement in the initiative AirCargo Community Frankfurt (ACC) aimed at pushing cargo matters rapidly forward for making Frankfurt more attractive for the industry was praised by her. “In all those years you have been an extremely reliable partner to us,” the Fraport Cargo Chief addressed BARIG Chairman Michael Hoppe directly, thanking him for his organization’s outstanding commitment.
 
In his statement, BARIG boss Michael Hoppe reminded the audience that the airlines serving Germany are facing great challenges due to inadequate framework conditions initiated by Berlin’s politicians, levying special aviation taxes or imposing night flight curfews, to name just two main obstacles. Only if these framework conditions are adequate, the air traffic industry as highly modern industrial sector can significantly contribute to Germany’s economic success in the future, he emphasized. In case federal and local politicians should fail supporting this dynamic sector and in view of the fierce competition abroad, Germany will have a hard time to defend its current position in global aviation, Michael predicted.  
 
In his greeting message, Norbert Barthle, Parliamentary State Secretary in Berlin’s Traffic Ministry reacted to Hoppe’s complaints, stating that “we want our German hubs to be successful.” The politician went on to say that for this reason, “there shall neither be a general ban on night flights, nor an alteration in the legal operating hours at German airports.” Finally, he advocated an international EU and ICAO level for even and standardized framework conditions. “Fair competition is only possible on the basis of a level playing field,” Barthle exclaimed.
 
Bernadette Weyland, Hessian Secretary to the Treasury and member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) was in a very delicate role when congratulating BARIG. This, because it was mainly her party dominating the Hesse state government that was ultimately responsible for imposing a night flight ban at FRA. In spite of the deterioration of Rhine-Main’s competitive position as result of the curfew, she spoke of Frankfurt Airport as a “flagship and motor for the federal state of Hesse.” Therefore, “securing and further developing the location’s attractiveness as international air traffic hub is a matter of the heart,” she stated. 
 
Carsten Spohr, Chairman and CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, said that BARIG stands for diversity, competition and Germany’s worldwide linkage. After the establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany BARIG had a major share in the process of reintegrating the country into the global air traffic network. By offering hundreds of passenger and cargo flights daily from and to Germany, the airlines incorporated in BARIG sustainably consolidate the air traffic industry as an elementary part of the infrastructure. “In the name of Lufthansa I congratulate BARIG to its 65th anniversary.”
 
CEO Michael Kerkloh of Munich Airport not only congratulated “whole-heartedly” BARIG to its 65th birthday but also stressed that he can’t detect any signs of retirement fantasies. After all, humans normally retire when reaching the age of 65. Michael ended his statement by wishing to further cooperate constructively with the BARIG member airlines. “They as well as we as airport representatives support the efficient cooperation between airports and airlines in the same way and thereby contribute to strengthening the air traffic location Germany.”
 
The anniversary ended in great consent, with speakers and audience fully agreeing that BARIG is a stable platform for both passenger and cargo traffics, that must go on playing an important role also in times ahead. Secondly, it was stressed that all parties involved must take action, particularly politicians to jointly strengthen the aviation location Germany and create fair framework conditions.
 
Heiner Siegmund

The IPA is insisting that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) decision to exclude cargo carriers from the new ruling is wrong and that it ignores available sleep and fatigue needs of the freighter pilots.

The FAA keeps splitting pilots into two classes
Ironically, the IPA criticizes the FAA regulations for its analysis that the costs incurred by freighter carriers would be too high if stricter pilot rest rules were introduced.
The union has been battling for years with the FAA to get them to give cargo carrier pilots the same rest conditions as their colleagues who fly passenger aircraft have.

In a recent article in the Flight International, the IPA states that “the scientific information on fatigue does not support the FAA’s exclusion of all-cargo operators from the final rule.”
Pilot fatigue has been a source of concern for some years and there are incidents and accidents, which have been traced back to the lack of rest and overwork on those up front on the flight deck.

Fatigue increases risks enormously
The new FAA ruling for passenger pilots came largely as a result of the Colgan Air passenger aircraft accident back in 2009.
A UPS Airbus A300 freighter accent in 2013 in Birmingham, Alabama, where both pilots lost their lives, has been put down to pilot overwork and fatigue.
The carrier’s management have, despite this accident, resisted from subjecting their pilots to stronger rest rules.

How many more accidents need to happen before freighter pilots in the U.S. get the same rest benefits and safety that their passenger colleagues enjoy?

John Mc Donagh

Is it all panic or to be taken seriously?
In our view it’s not just the British (or the majority of them) who are fed up with the way the EU is being run.
Let’s face it - the EU has grown itself into an organization which has an enormous civil servant machinery and costs a fortune and which many may rightly think has got out of control in the sense that there is no proper steering mechanism  on who does what in Brussels or Strasbourg.

A unified Europe! - yes by all means.
But - not one which has built itself into an uncontrollable and unproductive organization whereby the impression of millions of its citizens is that “the right hand does not know anymore what the left hand is doing.”

Some also argue, maybe rightly so, that the community has grown far too large and that it has become counter-productive due to having too many members and too many individual own interests that deter away from the original aim of making Europe an economic force to reckon with.

Whatever is fact - is fact - but fact is also that if the British vote for “out,” then this will have far reaching effects on the future of Europe.
The question remains - “what will happen to Europe, or are we panicking far too soon?”

European Logistics - in danger?
The United Kingdom is no small player as regards European trade figures.
In 2015, the UK imported goods totaling just over 564 billion euros. Around 56% of that figure were goods from the EU countries. Germany alone exported goods to the value of 89.3 billion euros to the UK.
The ratios are more or less the same as far as UK exports to the rest of the EU are concerned.
Of the 415 billion euros of exports from the UK, 182 billion or 44% were into the EU.
Germany for example received 38.3 billion euros worth, or 21% of the total exported to the EU.
So, if Britain leaves, then somewhere down the line, someone is going to suffer.

UK logistics firms expect tremendous price pressure as result of a Brexit
The transport sector may well be a future victim of the UK leaving the club.
The logistics (transport) between the UK and the rest of the EU countries is big business and enjoys certain benefits on trade and customs rings all round.
The UK economy has seen substantial growth in the past two or three years, but some UK logistics managers are very pessimistic on a Brexit as they see a steep drop in demand from the Eurozone and China. They also see their sector coming under tremendous price pressure which may well take away some of the competitive edge they presently enjoy.
Will this disappear overnight?
No - probably not as even if Britain opts for out on June 23rd, it could take up to seven years before things start to hit.
In the event of a Brexit, the EU Commission has to put a system into motion, which effectively cancels each and every contract between the old Britain in the EU and one without it.
This alone can take up to two years and final ratification of all of that, maybe a further five years.
Who knows what will happen in that period.
Will other countries follow Britain’s example?
Some, including larger members will definitely have more serious thoughts on that unless the “water head” in Brussels is reformed into a real economic platform and gets away from forcing changes in the everyday life of its citizens.

In this issue of CargoForwarder Global, we have gathered some opinions from members of the air cargo industry.

Let’s see what becomes fact in the coming days.

John Mc Donagh