Berlin-Munich, Zurich-Hamburg, Brussels-Abidjan or Vienna-London – just to name a few routes flown by all-female cockpit crews last week.
Chapeau ! It was a strong signal to the world delivered by Lufthansa, Lufthansa Cargo, Brussels Airlines, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, and Eurowings. Illustrating to passengers, air traffic controllers and cargo clients alike that women are equally fit and competent to fly aircraft safely through the skies as are their male colleagues. A demonstration of “Yes, We Can!”

Female careers are often still determined by men
What is common practice in Europe, most parts of the Americas, Australia and some of the Asian countries, does still not apply to nations where females are treated second or even third class, forced to obey the rules set by a male dominated and dictated environment. Some are still banned from sitting up front in a plane, being tolerated as flight attendants at best. 
“At Brussels Airlines we find it important to contribute to IWD by organizing these symbolic actions because we firmly believe in gender equality. We understand that having a family and a career can be a balancing act and we strive to support all our colleagues, men and women, to ensure that each and every person is able to reach their full career potential, while maintaining a good work-life balance,” explains Diane Cauwenberghs, HR Talent Manager at Brussels Airlines. An unequivocal statement where there is nothing to be added.

Brussels Airlines is leading the pack
The Belgian carrier plays a model role in women’s promotion: At 10%, the airline’s percentage of female pilots is one of the highest in the aviation industry, where the global average is just over 3%. As from the first of April Brussels Airlines will also have a female CEO. Christina Foerster will be the first woman ever to head a Lufthansa Group airline.
At parent company Lufthansa, the first two women entered the cockpit back in 1988 when the duo began their scheduled service. Only two years later, a freighter of LH Cargo took off at Frankfurt Airport with an all-female crew on board, a first for any freight airline worldwide, setting a bold exclamation mark to the industry.

Nice gesture
Today, 22 female First Officers or Captains belong to the freight carrier’s pilot corps, accounting for almost five percent of the cockpit staff.  
It is not known if female pilots were in charge of transporting thousands of roses from Latin America or Africa to Frankfurt, Munich and other German airports. However, known is that after arriving at the different locations Lufthansa ground staff handed over the flowers to female travelers last Thursday walking through passenger terminals during the International Women’s Day.

Heiner Siegmund

DHL served KFC huge inedible chicken
KFC overhauled its UK chicken distribution chain in November by replacing Bidvest Logistics with DHL, a unit of Germany’s Deutsche Post AG and previous partner Quick Service Logistics (QSL), which has supplied the fried-chicken chain in Europe since 2011. 
At the time, DHL announced that it was committed to setting an “industry benchmark” in service. However, days after the contract switched to DHL many of the food giant's outlets began running out of chicken products and it was forced to close more than 560 of its 900 UK restaurants because “operational issues at DHL."

Back to joyful consumption
KFC’s supply chain snapped after the DHL-QSL partnership shifted from five regional distribution sites run by Bidvest to just one in Rugby, England. At the height of the crisis, analysts at Stifel estimated that the restaurant shutdowns were costing KFC more than US$2 million a day in lost sales.
Announcing the decision to reappoint Bidvest Logistics, a KFC spokesman said: "Our focus remains on ensuring our customers can enjoy our chicken without further disruption. With that in mind, the decision has been taken in conjunction with QSL and DHL to revert the distribution contract for up to 350 of our restaurants in the north of the UK back to Bidvest Logistics."
More than 97% of the UK restaurants are open again, KFC said, though some are still operating with limited menus.

Nol van Fenema

Remarkable turnaround
Peter Gerber was thankfully proven wrong. Exactly a year ago, while presenting the carrier’s 2016 financial results with a straight face, LH Cargo’s CEO spoke of dire times his airline is going through, ending only in 2019, when the next profit would be achieved.

Predictions that are all old hat now! Thanks to internal restructuring measures, which include the axing of 800 positions, and an extremely strong market demand, Lufthansa Cargo achieved a remarkable financial turnaround, evidenced by an Adjusted 2017 EBIT amounting to €242 million.

“Adjusted Ebit” could be a stumbling block
And the rally doesn’t seem to be over yet, as indicated by the carrier’s head of Sales and Product Alexis von Hoensbroech during the “Cargovention” meeting held in Frankfurt some days ago: The manager stated: “We would be able to up our earnings further if we could add a handful of freighter aircraft to our fleet.” Currently, LH Cargo operates 12 MD-11Fs and five B777Fs, while further utilizing the capacity of eight B777Fs on weekends that are flying in the AeroLogic colors, a 50/50 percent DHL Express – Lufthansa Cargo joint venture.
However, regarding the presented profit that put a gleam in the manager’s eyes, some questions remain. This, because “Adjusted Ebit” is a term that normally includes pending transactions deducted from the officially published financial result. Which hidden costs this might include in the case of the German freight crane, remains subject of speculation. One contingency reserve for unforeseen expenditure arising during the current budget period could be accruals covering compensation payments demanded by DB Schenker parent Deutsche Bahn for price collusion. However, a court ruling is still pending. This issue will hopefully be clarified on March 22, when the management presents the annual result officially.  

World trade enabler
During the carrier’s recent “Cargovention” event held in Frankfurt and headlined “Be bold for logistic innovation” CEO Peter Gerber exclaimed that LH Cargo will put its core focus on digitalization. The electronic data exchange enhances customer-supplier relations, supports processes to be further automized, minimizes errors and forms the starting point for new business models, he said. Overall, it will lead to a new work ethic within enterprises and create an innovative environment.
Pointing out that Lufthansa Cargo is an enabler of world trade by offering the economy an extensive network and abundant transport capacity, the manager vigorously turned against protectionism “which will not prevail,” he predicted, applauded by the 250 attendees from across the industry. Open markets, technological change and communication at the speed of light are crucial for success, sharply contrasting attempts of erecting artificial tariff barriers to harm competitors.  

Fully in line with their “Cargovention” event, Lufthansa Cargo announced offering their customers direct access to capacity and rate data through the new Apps ‘Get Capacity’ and ‘GetRates.’ The new applications complement the already established ‘Tracking’ and ‘GetRoutes’ interfaces.
Thanks to the new web services, LH Cargo is further enlarging its existing digital product range on offer, therefore not only improving connectivity to its own customers but also defining new digital standards for the entire air freight industry. And more intelligent web services are to come, announces the carrier.

Heiner Siegmund

Runway expansion
BCSA has embarked on a very ambitious growth plan that includes focusing on the handling of belly hold cargo. The core of the project is a runway extension from currently 2,550 m to 3,200 m. The airport may well be betting on the displacement of flights from Brussels Airport should BRU’s pending noise problem not be solved properly.
The reason why Air Belgium has opted for BSCA rather than Brussels International is in the fact that 12.5% of its share capital, € 20 million, comes from the investment vehicle SRIW of the regional Walloon government. Another 12.5% was invested by the Federal Participation Company.

Former TNT chief Terzakis at the helm
CEO Niky Terzakis, former helmsman of Liege-based TNT Airways, owns 20 percent of the shares. The rest of the shareholders, among which are Asian investors, have preferred not to disclose their identities. Terzakis is believed to be one of the driving forces of Air Belgium’s cargo strategy.
Brussels Airport’s Head of Cargo Steven Polmans says that he would have preferred to have seen the company touch down at ‘his’ airport. “It is logical that their long-haul passenger operations are linked to cargo. I do not think that this will harm our logistics platform in BRU. On the contrary: the cargo will come from BRU mainly, so this will offer additional connectivity for our clients.”

Marcel Schoeters in Brussels

ULD tracking of top importance
They are bringing a new ULD tracking solution onto the market which is based on the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) systems and which they say will be fully embedded into the ULD structure. The new tracking system will also be backed up by a global interoperable reader infrastructure, the company further states.
In order to achieve a smooth and speedy implementation, Unilode has agreed to team up with OnAssett Intelligence Inc, which is a U.S.-based technology provider. They, along with a yet unnamed leading ULD manufacturer, will bring the new ULD tracking solution onto the market during the course of this year. Cathay Pacific, AirBridgeCargo, Cargolux and Air Canada, as well as several global shippers are all closely involved in the rollout of the system.
Unilode’s CEO, Benoit Dumont said: “Unilode Aviation solutions has decided to accelerate the use of modern technology in its ULD management solutions. Since winning the inaugural IATA Air Cargo Innovation Award we have been working closely with our customers to enhance our digital tracking technology.”

AirBridgeCargo extends for a further five years
One of Unilode’s largest customers, AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC), has extended their ULD management contract with Unilode until mid-2023. The Moscow-based carrier which is presently operating with a fleet of 18 Boeing 747 freighters has a contingent of more than 10,000 ULDs which are supplied from Unilode’s stock of around 120,000 ULDs. Both companies have been partners since 2004 and this seems to work well - hence the new five year extension of the present contract. ABC had tendered out the contract for a new five year period and after having studied various offers, the Russian carrier has opted to stay with Unilode.
AirBridgeCargo’s General Director, Sergey Lazarev, stated: “During our tender process we have looked at a number of options and after an in-depth review chose Unilode as a supplier that will serve our needs in the best possible way.”

John Mc Donagh

Some would say LATAM Cargo CEO Andrés Bianchi is not really in an enviable position in view of the Himalayan – or better Andes high workload piling up at his desk. Others might simply congratulate him for the many tasks waiting to be accomplished by him and his team for lifting LATAM Cargo to the next – higher level.
No matter how outsiders assess this situation, either from a rather reluctant or enthralling position, the sober truth is that Mr Bianchi together with his peers must set LATAM Cargo’s course for the future enhancing the carrier’s market position, pushing innovations ahead very fast without overburdening the staff or disrupting well-rehearsed processes. Indeed, a Herculean task.
And these are the most pressing projects waiting for being accomplished:
 
New IT system
Of utmost importance is the implementation of a new IT system, scheduled to be implemented very soon. Without revealing specs, Mr Bianchi says that the tool will enable end-end freight booking options, offering interconnectivity between different users. It should be fully operational by 2020 latest, announces the CEO. Once implemented, “we should have the digital architecture in place to deliver the kind of customer servicer we have in mind, making us the quality leader in South America,” he proclaims. Asked about the provider he remained tight-lipped, pointing out that details will be revealed shortly.

Investments in ground facilities
Another challenging project is the enhancement of ground infrastructure at various Latin American airports, frequently utilized by LATAM and LATAM Cargo. “At some locations we are willing to invest considerable funds ourselves, particularly at highly frequented hubs like Santiago, Sao Paulo and Lima,” Mr Bianchi tells.
This scheme is in full swing, proven by six warehouses built at Brazilian airports, underlined also by LATAM Cargo’s state-of-the-art domestic freight terminal inaugurated last January at Santiago’s Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport, the country’s main hub that is currently undergoing extensive expansion.
 

Upcoming joint ventures
Very high on the carrier’s agenda stand also plans to sign joint venture agreements with IAG Cargo and American Airlines Cargo. It would widen each carrier’s reach considerably, enlarging their footprint in North and Latin America as well as Europe. Once the deal is inked, cargo transports will be based on metal neutrality and revenues split between the parties according to a predefined allocation key. The financial model still needs fine-tuning – among other things – since LATAM Cargo is the only member of the trio with freighters in its fleet, while IAG and AA rely solely on belly-hold capacity. And there is another stumbling block that has to be set aside in the case of the LATAM-American Airlines joint venture: the non-uniform traffic right situation existing between Latin American countries and the USA. While most have signed an open skies pact with Washington, enabling unlimited traffic, others like Argentina or Ecuador haven’t yet. But only in case they become signatory states can the intended JVs be launched.

Freighter fleet realignment
Turning to operational and network issues it can be said that most of the homework has meanwhile been done by LATAM Cargo. Some months ago, the carrier decided to get rid of their four B777Fs and operate a uniform fleet of the Triple Seven freighter’s smaller sister model B767Fs instead, capable of uplifting 52 metric tons per flight rather than 100 tons (B777F). According to CEO Bianchi, LATAM Cargo will up main deck capacity to and from Europe. “In addition to Amsterdam and Frankfurt, which since some time are part of our freighter network, we intend to serve another European destination beginning in April,” he announces, without revealing the name of the airport.
Currently, the carrier operates eight B767Fs but intends adding another four units by 2020 through P2F conversions. The alignment of the freighter fleet fits the volatility of the perishables dominated Latin American markets best and enables LATAM Cargo utmost operational flexibility, states Claudio Torres, Commercial Director South America.

New priorities
Generally speaking it can be said that LATAM Cargo changed their transport philosophy, focusing on lower deck capacity of their passenger fleet, with freighter aircraft following in line. This new capacity strategy is a reaction to the lasting volatile market situation in Latin America, driven by seasonality and import/export imbalances.
How dependent LATAM Cargo is on perishables is illustrated by the example presented by Señor Torres: “vegetables, fruits, flowers, berries, asparagus and also salmon coming from fish farms in southern Chile account for 94 percent of all exports originating in South America and flown on board our aircraft to the U.S. or European destinations,” he states. It’s a steady flow of goods from the southern production sites to the consumer markets in the northern hemisphere that he expects to even increase in the years to come.

Heiner Siegmund

Vanneste to head CGN
Today (19 March), the Supervisory Board of Cologne-Bonn Airport has unanimously appointed Johan Vanneste (57) as new chairman of the management. He will take on his new duty on 1 June latest, in case of earlier availability a month earlier, on 1 May.
The Belgian national is a successful and internationally experienced manager in the aviation industry. He held the position as President & Chief Executive Officer of Luxembourg Findel International Airport since 2014. Previously, he was in responsible executive positions at a number of cargo and passenger airlines and as a program and maintenance manager.
Friedrich Merz, the Chairman of the Supervisory Board said on the occasion of the appointment: "We are pleased to have won with Mr. Vanneste a highly qualified new chairman of the management of our airport. There are pressing tasks waiting for him to be accomplished to secure the positive future development of the airport. We also expect him to implement a cultural change within the management level and between the management and the staff and enhance the communication with the public. We are confident that Johan Vanneste will live up to these expectations in every way."
The new appointment at CGN’s top deck became necessary after Cologne-Bonn’s former Chief Michael Garvens had left the company following internal quarrels.

AMS summer season will start without local rule
A local rule beneficial to cargo operations at AMS will not be implemented by the start of the summer season on 1 April, sources in The Hague have revealed. Apparently the juridical review of the new regulation for its compatibility with the EU regulation is more time-consuming than expected. On top of that the completion and implementation of the rules have led to some delay. The independent slot coordinator at the airport has questioned the practical feasibility of the ruling, as the slot coordinator may not have sufficient staff to manage the complex system. The Ministry of Infrastructure however agreed to supply additional manpower. Insiders bet on an implementation of the rule by this summer. That would be quite comfortable in view of the winter season, in which the scarcity problem tends to be more prominent.

Emirates to cease BSL freighters / awarded Cargo IQ certification
Emirates SkyCargo has followed in AirBridgeCargo and Latam Cargo’s footsteps by announcing that they will also cease operations from Basel/Mulhouse Euroairport (BSL). SkyCargo has been operating from BSL since 2014. It has been confirmed by the carrier that the last flight out of Basel will be on 24th of March this year. Until now the Dubai-based airline had been operated a once weekly freighter in to Basel. They recently started services into Maastricht, Netherlands and last year into Luxembourg. The carrier states that the decision to quit serving Basel is purely an operational one and part of their routine operational review of which freighter capacity can be best deployed to serve customer’s needs. Emirates Airlines continues to offer belly hold capacity to both Zurich and Geneva on their daily passenger services.
Emirates SkyCargo has gained its first Cargo IQ certification after having joined the Group in 2016. The certificate was handed over last week during this year’s World Cargo Symposium in Dallas, Texas. Cargo IQ’s external auditor, SGS, audited SkyCargo’s internal processes which included measures taken by the carrier to minimize and/or eliminate shipment errors and give clients better visibility on the status of their shipments.

Swissport honoured by Cathay Pacific
Zurich-headquartered airport ground handler Swissport has been recognised by Cathay Pacific Airlines (CX) as “Best Ground Handling Agent of the Year in Customer Services 2017.” This is the second year in a row that Swissport gained this prestigious award from CX. The handling agent also gained two more awards for their Zurich Airport performance.
On top of the Best Ground Handling Agent award Swissport were also handed the Best European Airport Performance 2017 award for their Zurich operations and took the third place in the Airport of the Year 2017 awards. Swissport Zurich operates with so called “dedicated teams,” one of which is the Cathay Pacific Team which operates for CX based on specifications which are laid out by the Hong Kong-based carrier.

AFKLMP offer new global software
The cargo arm of the Dutch-Franco airline, Air France-KLM-Martinair Cargo has rolled out what they see as a new software solution for their global cargo network and which is geared to the company’s digital transformation process. The carrier teamed up with the U.S.-based software company Accenture Freight and logistics Software (AFLS) to form a new platform which will drive customer excellence and quality in their quote-to-book process. It is claimed that the new software solution will integrate all of the commercial functions including Bookings, Offers, Ratings, Pricing, Capacity & Revenue Management, AWB control and Flight Planning throughout the AF-KL network. The carrier’s state that the new AFLS unified digital platform brings end-to-end commercial focus to revenue management processes and extends the value chain to the end user.

time:matters offers Sameday Air to U.S. & Mexico
The special speed logistics company time:matters which is based near Frankfurt Airport has extended their international network by offering a “Sameday Air Network to both the United States and Mexico. The someday service will now be on offer to fifteen stations within the U.S. and one in Mexico. This new international connection outside of Europe follows on the recently opened service to Tel Aviv. The U.S. and Mexico service  offers more than 500 weekly direct connections with 21 partner airlines and a what time:matters terms as a stable standardized pricing formula. In the meantime time:matters offers someday services to more than 100 stations in Europe and Tel Aviv, served by over 20 airlines. The addition of the U.S. and Mexico brings that up to almost 120 stations.

Budapest tops cargo volumes in 2017
The Hungarian capital’s airport has come a long way from being a second-rate cargo airport. The air cargo volumes for 2017 rose in 2017 by almost 14% to reach 127,145 tonnes. This figure also represents an increase of just about 40% on cargo handled at the airport in 2015. The share of import and export cargo was almost on par, with exports holding 52.2% and imports 47.8%. The link between Budapest and China through the cooperation with STO Express and EKOL seems to have paid off and has brought better volumes into BUD. The giant Chinese express company, STO Express, had designated BUD as their preferred hub for air cargo. In this respect Budapest Airport is confident that they will benefit from the continuing e-commerce upswing.
Figures for January and February show a total of 21,750 tonnes handled - an increase of 17.4% over the same period last year.

John Mc Donagh  /  Marcel Schoeters

Recycled cardboard for use on aircraft pallets
During the buildup of aircraft pallets with heavy, sensitive or bulky cargo, it is often necessary to use timber as a means of being able to distribute the weight evenly over the aircraft (cargo) pallets. Traditionally, this has been effected with the use of wooden beams of various sizes and weights, depending on what type of cargo is being loaded.
Airlines, or better said, handling agents, have been spending enormous sums during the past decades in purchasing timber beams which are used on pallets and which they never see again because they tend to disappear at destination. On top of this, wooden beams on aircraft pallets mean more weight and hence the loss of revenue paying payload. If the squAIR-timber product kicks off, then it could be that this problem will disappear and carriers will rejoice at being able to lift more cargo!

How is it planned to work?
‘trilatec technical solutions’ - a company which is based in the German town of Merzig, a stone’s throw away from the Luxembourg border, offers cost and weight saving solutions to the logistics industry - in particular the air cargo world. These, among others, include slave-pallets and special straps for aircraft cargo tie-down.
They have come up with a new product named as “squAIR-timber.” This new weight-saver was introduced recently at the opening of their new facility in Ginsheim-Gustavsburg, near Frankfurt Airport. The event was attended by around 50 representatives from the air cargo industry who were led through the new facility and shown what trilatec considers as being the advantages of using squAIR-timber.
In essence, squAIR-timber beams are produced by using compressed cardboard beams which are then surrounded by a lightweight (see photo) covering. The producer claims that this new form of pallet shoring material is 80% lighter than traditional wooden beams, has only a weight distribution of 1.2 kilos/m, saves around 125 kilos weight per unit where it is used, can take up to 10 ton loads on each pallet and spares time for handlers on pallet buildup. On top of this, squAIR-timber beams are easily stored for further reuse or when needed, transport back to origin.

Cargolux is the kick-off airline
Luxembourg-based all-cargo carrier, Cargolux(CV), seems to be very impressed with this new weight-saving measure and has signed an agreement with trilatec for the use of the squAIR-timber product. CV will be the first airline worldwide to use this lightweight material and has already introduced it for use on all of their pharma shipments originating out of Luxembourg. Apart from being a weight-saver for the airline, Cargolux also sees the introduction of squAIR-timber on their aircraft as an added environmental issue. They stated in a press release that: “the cardboard fibre composite beams only contain raw materials from sustainable sources that differs significantly from conventional corrugated products and provides an excellent economic and ecological long term replacement for wooden material.”
Cargolux is convinced that by using only this form of shoring for general cargo that they will generate more payload and reduce fuel consumption on their fleet  by around 1,200 tons per annum. This in turn then results in less aircraft engine emissions into the atmosphere. Pallet build up times are said to be much shorter, doing away with the need of forklifts on pallet buildup.
By winning around 125 kilos per pallet on payload - then carriers may well have a cheaper and efficient tool to generate more revenue in the future.

John Mc Donagh

What many did not know at the time was that the aircraft was carrying almost ten tonnes of gold bars, platinum and diamonds which had been mined in the Chukotka region.
Just after lift-off at Yakutsk, it seems that there was a major cargo shift on the cargo deck and the rear hatch of the AN-12 broke away and part of the very valuable load of gold, platinum and diamonds rained own onto the runway. The aircraft continued its climb-out and the pilots decided to divert to Magan Airport which is situated 6 nautical miles from Yakutsk. The aircraft landed safely there.

Yakutsk runway paved with gold
Those on the ground at Yakutsk could not believe what they saw. The runway was literally paved with gold bars which had come raining down Security officials and police tried to quickly cordon off the scene in order to gather the precious load back together. It is reported that the value of the cargo which “came free“ is around US$368 million and weighed 3.4 tons. The remaining 6.5 tonnes luckily managed to stay on board.
A major cargo shift is probably the most plausible reason for the incident. This could have been caused by improper loading or not enough tie-down for the cargo which resulted in a shift aft during take-off, putting too much pressure on the rear hatch area and resulting in its separation.
Luckily, the aircraft and crew got away with a nasty shock. The guys on the ground at Yakutsk will not forget the experience either and can tell their children how their runway was paved with gold - even though only for a short time.

John Mc Donagh

Pharma now a household name
Pharmaceuticals – that is a collective term commonly used as an umbrella name for a large number of individual and often very different single drugs or medicines such as antibiotics, pills, barbiturates, insulin, vaccines or even the fast spreading range of modern healthcare products. Apart from their diversity, all of them need a specific climate fitting their individual needs, adequate packaging and tailored transport solutions, professional attention given by ground handling agents and utmost care along the entire supply chain from origin to destination.
So far so good. The crucial question is, however, if airports are sufficiently equipped with cool rooms offering a different temperature ambient for storing pharmaceuticals temporarily if needed. Another often complained about issue is the lack of sufficiently trained ground personnel to handle the sensitive products according to their specific demand. Finally, incorrectly filled out documents accompanying pharma shipments can be another source of faulty treatment at airports or within warehouses.

Pharma transports are going through the roof
These and other pressing issues will be discussed on 21 March during the ACD Forum Pharma Logistics, taking place within the Perishable Center at Frankfurt Airport. The event starts at 2 pm and ends at 8 pm, the admission is free. Personal ID documents are required since the Perishable Center is located within the security area.  
“For the pharmaceutical industry, reliable cool chains as well as logistics as a whole are becoming more and more significant,” stresses the new ACD president Christopher Stoller. “Logistics providers need to cope with a rising number of temperature-sensitive products destined for faraway markets.”

Cutting down risks
According to Stoller, the event will focus on innovative solutions for this new growth segment. “By sending temperature sensitive goods from one climate zone to another, the quality and integrity of products can be affected by a lack of adequate control mechanisms. To eliminate these risks, GDP-requirements were implemented and have to be fulfilled,” emphasizes Andreas Seitz, Managing Director of DoKaSch Temperature Solutions. His Frankfurt-based firm oversees the flow of an entire armada of active and passive cool containers on behalf of cargo carriers.
In a nutshell, the upcoming ACD Forum on pharma offers manufacturers, users, service providers, scientists and industry representatives a comprehensive platform for mutually exchanging information and knowledge.

Bringing together all parties involved
Important cross-cutting issues that are of major importance for the current and future design, acceptance and marketability of pharmaceutical logistics will be tabled as well. These include framework conditions, the viewpoint of manufacturers and shippers, insights into processes and certifications, the role of insurers, providers of transport solutions and technologies as well as infrastructure providers. The main topics will be presented on the basis of practical experience and achieved results.
So, it is worth taking part in the event, Stoller stresses, in promoting the ACD’s Pharma Forum.

Those interested in attending can register at backoffice@aircargoclub.de
Venue Adress: Perishable Center Frankfurt (PCF)
Airportring, Gate 26, Building 454, 60549 Frankfurt Airport
ID is required.

Heiner Siegmund

In aviation matters the EU seems to have been awoken from a long-lasting deep sleep. The dormant period ended last week with the Transport Committee member’s decision to amend the EU regulation 868/2004 valid for the past 14 years. With their voting, the old bill that has proven to be totally ineffective will end up in the waste basket once the European Council has approved the new aviation regulation which is scheduled to take place next autumn. “The 868/2004 regulation was a rather feeble attempt to prevent market distortions that missed its targets completely,” commented Markus Pieper, the Transport Committee’s Group Rapporteur of the European People’s Party (Conservatives) in a telephone conference with CargoForwarder Global.

The name of the game is take, not give
Aviation data strongly support his statement: For instance, from 2006 to 2016 the half-publicly-owned Turkish Airlines grew its capacity on routes between Istanbul and destinations in Germany by 116 percent. The new airport which is currently being built on the shores of the Black Sea is intended to become the world’s largest hub, bundling passenger and cargo flows between Europe and the Far East, thus siphoning away traffic from the EU on a large scale to up the load factor of the national carrier TK.

Unacceptable conditions
Furthermore, the highly-subsidized Gulf carriers, namely Qatar Airways, Etihad and Emirates provide another example of market distortion by consistently undercutting their EU peers’ air fares. A practice they are able to do, concludes the EU TRAN Committee, due to hidden state aid, low wages paid to their ground personnel at gateways such as Doha, Abu Dhabi or Dubai, strong financial support by government controlled banks when purchasing new aircraft to grow their fleets or no union representation to better the labour conditions of staff working at ground handling agents, airlines or airports in the Gulf region. The main target of this strategy is to gain market shares and grow the carrier’s global influence, no matter if they are loss-making or profitable. Deficiencies are compensated by their state owners. All these are unacceptable conditions from a European perspective, say the TRAN members.
But that’s not all. The EU also targets Chinese and Russian airlines that are directly or indirectly state aided, distorting competition on a global scale. In this context the Committee speaks of “predatory policies.”

EU sends watchdogs to the accused
With their new regulation these practices will be stopped, preventing further traffic shifts based on unfair competition at the cost of European airlines. Should new violations occur, the EU will start investigations, sending inspectors to the state authorities and airlines concerned. In case they refuse to open their books and exclude the external watchdogs from data access, the EU has some impactful torture tools. These include the limitation of traffic rights, financial penalties or even overflight bans.

Protecting, without being protectionist
However, delegate Markus Pieper emphasizes that alike counter measures are only meant as a last resort to safeguard a level playing field in aviation: “We are not afraid of competition in a free market - on the contrary,” he emphasizes. By adding to this that the EU’s economic growth will be hampered, causing losses of jobs in the aviation industry should the ongoing infringements not be prevented. He concludes: “That's why we need an aviation defense instrument that will protect without being protectionist, and should persuade and deter in first place rather than punish.”
In the voting, 72 percent of the 39-member comprising TRAN Committed approved the amendment, while some delegates representing countries located at the edge of the EU, namely Cyprus, Malta or Finland voted against the resolution. They fear the loss of connectivity should Gulf carriers, Turkish Airlines or other non-EU airlines stop serving them as countermeasure to traffic restrictions imposed by Brussels.

Heiner Siegmund

The airline is currently negotiating payment for liquidated damages with the fuel supplier, as well as establishing a long-term plan for paying off future fuel bills.
Reports said that fuel expenses have become the biggest operating cost for Chinese carriers. Hainan Airlines Holding’s fuel costs reached CNY7.9 billion (US$1.2 billion) in 2016, accounting for 25% of the carrier’s total operating expenses.
Separately, the South China Morning Post reported that the HNA Group is stepping up its disposals of assets with plans to sell a clutch of office buildings, hotels and other property to repay debt taken on its recent rapid overseas expansion.

Selling assets worth US$2.2 billion
The assets to be sold include the Shanghai HNA Tower, the Shanghai Yangtze International Enterprise Plaza and the Renaissance Shanghai Pudong Hotel, Bloomberg reported, adding that the combined book value of the properties is about US$2.2 billion.
HNA could not be reached by CargoForwarder Global for comment on the proposed property sales.
The SCMP quoted media reports which said the HNA Group intends to sell 100 billion yuan (US$15.8 billion) of assets in the first half of this year.
Earlier this month, HNA announced plans to sell its US$1.4 billion assets in the Hilton Worldwide Holdings hotel chain Park Hotels & Resorts Inc., while in the past months, HNA has reduced its holding in Deutsche Bank and sold properties in London, Hong Kong and Sydney.
In Hong Kong, it has sold three of its four plots of development land at the former Kai Tak airport.

Nol van Fenema

Successful JVs
Turning to their so called Cargo Evolution strategy, Mr Gerber lauded the “excellent results” the 2016 initiated joint venture between LH Cargo and ANA Cargo has produced so far. The Cathay JV is on track as well, he said, announcing thirdly that joint operations with United Cargo based on metal neutrality will be kicked off during the course of this year.
Touching digitalization, the CEO announced plans to automate core processes, develop new business models based on the exchange of big data, and a “Rapid Rate Response” project built on an algorithm.
An important political point tabled by him was his plea for open markets enabled by fair trading practices. Artificial tariff barriers are a step backwards, distorting supply chains, producing nothing but losers, he exclaimed. A clear message sent to Washington. 

Tentative fleet policy
As to the fleet, Herr Gerber confirmed statements made earlier by the carrier’s head of sales and product, Alexis von Hoensbroech that operating a couple of additional freighters, complementing the carrier’s twelve MD-11Fs and five B777Fs, would be helpful in the light of booming demand. However, by disciplining himself he dismissed such thoughts, affirming a more conservative policy aimed at replacing the capacity of the aging MD-11 freighter fleet on a one-one basis by adding seven Boeing 777Fs to the fleet. The roll-over strategy is scheduled to be finalized by 2022 latest when the sub-fleet of MD-11Fs are completely written off, thus cementing the current uplift capability in the years to come.

Global network of cool terminals to be built
Herr Gerber added to this that he intends to deepen the ties and expand the business with freight carrier AeroLogic, the Leipzig-based 50/50 percent LH Cargo and DHL Express joint venture, currently operating with ten B777Fs. “This joint venture has created a win-win situation for both parties involved.”
Finally, Mr Gerber unveiled plans for building a “global cool network,” consisting of on-airport warehouses offering different temperature sections for handling and processing pharma products and perishables. Next to the carrier’s Cool Center at Rhine-Main Airport, whose capacity was massively enlarged last March totaling 7,800 square meters now, Munich Airport is Lufthansa Cargo’s current runner-up in this endeavor.

Heiner Siegmund

Net income and share earnings rise considerably
Although sometimes hard to decipher properly, we publish here what we received as fiscal second quarter results - or what some may term as 3rd quarter 2018 fiscal year results.
The fiscal second quarter net income was listed as being US$16.5 billion, which is a good nine percent up on the same period last year. This ensured that earnings per share came out at US$3.72, which surprised Wall Street experts who had indicated a maximum of US$3.11 per share. In their statement, FedEx noted that the quarterly consolidated earnings have been adjusted to exclude the estimated US$1.15 billion reduction in their net U.S. deferred tax liability which is due to a lower statutory rate as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
Individual sector performances went well according to information released by the company.
FedEx Express, which also includes TNT Express results, showed a revenue of US$9.37 billion - an increase of 8.5%. However, operating income in this sector dropped by 16% to US$610 million due to higher fuel surcharges, currency exchange rates and higher base rates. Higher than expected TNT Express integration costs and adverse weather conditions also affected this sector. The quarterly package revenues went up by 8% to just over US$7.0 billion.
FedEx Freight, the company’s less-than-truckload segment (LTL) saw revenues go up by 14% (US$1.69 billion) as well as a 34% increase in operating income. FedEx Ground revenues showed an 11% increase to US$5.22 billion and the operating revenue in this sector was US$634 million, a rise of 23%.

Massive new investment in Memphis hub
On March 17, FedEx announced that they will invest a further US$1 billion in their main hub at Memphis International Airport. The investment is aimed at improving capacity and operational efficiency there. A new sorting facility will be put in place and there will be further updates with more modern systems over the complete infrastructure. A new bulk truck loading building will be erected as well as a separate area for the handling of oversized cargo. Construction is planned to start next year and all should be completed by 2025.
FedEx Chairman & CEO, Fred Smith, was very content with the results of the second fiscal quarter and commented on the Memphis expansion by stating that: “Modernization and expansion of the Memphis hub will ensure that we continue to provide outstanding service to our customers around the world and make this an even better place to work for the thousands of team members.”
FedEx already employs 11,000 staff in their Memphis hub and it is expected that this figure will rise once again when the new facilities are in place.

John Mc Donagh

CargoLogicAir confirms their commitment in the UK
Senior managers from London Stansted-based CargoLogicAir (CLA) met up recently with the UK Aviation Minister, Baroness Sugg to confirm the carrier’s commitment to the UK’s forward-looking position on aviation matters. During the get-together the CLA team informed Baroness Sugg on how they see the airline’s expanding network as being of benefit to UK companies. They stressed that this is especially noticeable in their support of the oil & gas, pharmaceutical, automotive, high-tech and aerospace industries. CargoLogicAir also emphasized in the meeting their contribution for the ever growing demand for air cargo capacity, especially for the e-commerce market. CLA’s managers, headed by their new CEO, David Kerr, told the aviation minister that they support the UK government’s position to consider continuing the UK’s longstanding membership in the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
The airline now employs around 200 staff in the UK and operates to destinations in the USA, Mexico, Hong Kong, Tel Aviv (via FRA) and Dubai with their fleet of three Boeing 747 freighters.
In other news, CLA’s mother company, Volga-Dnepr Group has announced that Tony Bauckham has joined Volga-Dnepr UK as Commercial Director. Mr Bauckham has been in the air cargo business for many years and had already worked for Volga-Dnepr between 2004 and 2007. He previously spent eight years as MD with UK based Air Charter Service.

Pharma.Aero signs MOU with IATA
At this year’s World Cargo Symposium in Dallas, Texas, IATA and Pharma.Aero signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at creating a larger international platform for Pharma.Aero’s future projects and initiatives in the life science airfreight sector.
Pharma.Aero chairman, Nathan De Valck, sees this as an important milestone for his organization. He stated: “The MOU underlines our vision to foster collaboration with all cargo stakeholders that support the CEIV pharma industry standard.” IATA and Pharma.Aero have been working closely together during the past months and the MOU is seen as being a formalization of this collaboration.

LH Cargo starts eDGD approach
The digital approach in managing IATA Dangerous Goods Declarations (DGD) seems to be taking shape in the air cargo industry. Lufthansa Cargo see themselves as a major driver for the standardization of the eDGD process. In order to push this further ahead LH Cargo has joined with Hamburg, Germany-headquartered IT-provider Dakosky to implement the eDGD platform which has been dubbed as “Infr8-eDGD“ and is seen as being a dangerous goods platform for shippers and forwarders. The carrier announced that the new platform will be the basis for the eDGD process supported by Lufthansa Cargo.
The eDGD is a modern data sharing approach which uses supply chain community platforms and is fully compliant with the current IATA Dangerous goods regulations.
Lufthansa Cargo, along with Swiss WorldCargo, Air France and CargoLogicAir, has been a major driver in pushing for the standardization of eDGD.

AFKLMP Cargo offers new summer destinations
The Franco-Dutch Air France, KLM, Martinair Cargo organization has published their summer air cargo schedule which includes various new destination within their combined network. The carriers will this summer offer over 1,100 weekly services to 116 global destinations from their Amsterdam and Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) hubs.
New cargo destinations from CDG include Taipei, Nairobi, Seattle and San Jose, Costa Rica with B787 and B777 equipment. Air France’s new low cost carrier, JOON, will also offer cargo capacity on their A340 passenger flights to the Seychelles and Brazil (Fortaleza). KLM will also operate a new passenger service to Fortaleza along with increased flights to New York, JFK and reinstate their Mumbai operations.

China Cargo starts SHA-FRA operations
Frankfurt Airport has welcomed an additional cargo airline. China Cargo Airlines, a subsidiary of China Eastern and which is China’s first international cargo only carrier, has commenced twice-weekly Boeing 777 freighter services between Shanghai-Pudong and Frankfurt. The B777F which can carry around 105 tonnes of cargo will operate on Wednesdays and Sundays. The carrier is presently negotiating with the German aviation authorities (LBA) for additional traffic rights. Once, and if these are obtained, China Cargo plans to increase their all-cargo flights to FRA. China Eastern recently handed over the handling and sales of all of their cargo operations to China Cargo. Cargo handling in FRA is in the hands of Frankfurt Cargo Services (FCS), a joint venture set-up between Worldwide Cargo Services (WFS) and Fraport. China Cargo Airlines in the meantime operates with six B777Fs and three B747-400F aircraft. 

Biman Bangladesh restarts UK cargo operations
After having being banned by UK aviation authorities from moving cargo between Bangladesh and the United Kingdom (CargoForwarder Global reported), Dhaka-based Biman Bangladesh Airlines resumed cargo transport again as of March 14. The ban was put into place in March 2016 after a UK Department of Transport security audit came up with serious concerns on cargo screening procedures at Dhaka International Airport. These have presumably been rectified and the carrier received its necessary ACC3 certificate as well as the RA-3 certificate as safe cargo handling agent. A new Exclusive Detector System (UDS) and Explosive Trace Detectors (EDT) have been installed at Dhaka Airport as well as the use of an Explosive Detector Dog (EDD).

John Mc Donagh

Sobering reality
This is the vision. In reality however the picture is somewhat different: This was exemplified by some of the panelists at the ACD symposium. The number of mishaps and errors is still way too high, insufficient infrastructure or poor training of ground personnel leads to annual damages which surpass the billion euros mark. These insufficiencies do not just happen in countries with poor infrastructure but also in highly industrialized states. Exemplified by a multi-million euros shipment of serum flown from Scandinavia to a U.S. airport in the Great Lakes region from where it was supposed to be commuted to its final destination in the mid-West. Instead, the ground personnel, distracted by a shift change, didn’t pay attention to the consignment and left it standing at a corner of the apron, where it was exposed to a baking sun over several hours. So the end of the story is that the goods became overheated and had to be disposed off as hazardous waste, which added to the overall costs.

Humans are the weak link in the chain
Fact is that many processes still lack standardization, tracking and monitoring tools are still improvable and interfaces are still the biggest stumbling block. “There are still quite a number of routes where airports are technically still underserved, not offering efficient solutions for temp critical goods. Given those cases, active cooling containers are the only solution safeguarding the content of the packages from beginning to end," emphasized Andreas Seitz, Managing Director of DoKaSch Temperature Solutions. Currently, his company offers the market 400 temperature controlled containers, named ‘Opticoolers’ for trip rentals. “In the course of 2018, we intend to add 200 newly built actively cooled containers to our existing fleet of cool boxes,” Mr Seitz told CargoForwarder Global.

IATA pushes hard on pharma
The ACD symposium acclaimed the IATA CEIV-Pharma certification initiative to build a global platform for pharma logistics throughout the supply chain and up the knowledge of the personnel involved. "Most problems happen at aprons or within warehouses, those are the weak spots in the pharma supply chain,” said Beverly Seebach, Cargo Manager Europe at IATA.
At the ACD meeting, experts confirmed that Frankfurt Airport, Europe's largest air hub for pharmaceutical transports, is well positioned for further growth. "FRA is meanwhile the number one pharma hub in Europe," stated Joachim von Winning, Executive Director of the Air Cargo Community Frankfurt. More than 100,000 tons of pharmaceutical products are handled there each year, and the number is rising. FRA’s Perishable Center at the airport’s Cargo City South offers 9,000 square meters of space. Unfortunately, such a modern infrastructure for temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical products is still not standard internationally.

Pharma is flying high at LH Cargo
Additional capacity is available in the northern part of the airport, where Lufthansa Cargo runs a Cool Center comprising 7,800 square meters, with large parts dedicated for pharmaceutical shipments. According to LHC manager Joerg Bodenroeder, Senior Director Handling Specials, pharma shipments account for an average of 5 to 8 percent of all goods flown by his airline. “This applies to the weight, while revenue contributions by pharma are substantially higher,” Herr Bodenroeder said.
According to him, the importance of this commodity for his carrier has steadily increased during the last couple of years. Shown by the first Cool Center built in 2012, offering 4,500 square meters of storage space segmented in different temperature zones. And reinforced by the new facility of 3,300 square meters which is operational since March 1, this year. The manager said that nearly 80 percent of all pharma shipments handled by LH Cargo in FRA are transits, while exports account for 15 percent and imports make up the difference.

Heiner Siegmund  /  John Mc Donagh

Earlier this year, YEC received a U.S. Government contract to build and fly ten of a closely-related cargo drone, the tandem-wing Silent Arrow® GD-700 (Glider, Disposable, 700 lbs. payload), which will be tested by the United States Marine Corps.
Unlike the electrically-powered ER-700 variant, which can take-off and land from rough airfields, the unmanned Silent Eagle cargo drone can be airdropped from the hold of a fixed-wing (C-130 or similar) or rotary-wing (CH-53 or similar) aircraft from altitudes as high up as 25,000 feet.

‘Silent Eagle’ offers different application possibilities
Up to 700lb of cargo can be carried in the body of the container look-alike whose boxy, slab-sided fuselage acts as its own hard shell shipping crate - further reducing manufacturing and procurement costs (each unit is set to sell for under US$10,000).
The glider components are delivered within the fuselage itself and installed when the vehicle is readied for launching. This process involves the addition of a forward and aft wing main plane pair as a pyramidal nosecone.

The result is a "streamlined" twin-winged vehicle capable of gliding down to the earth's surface under complete silence.
YEC said in a statement that the Silent Eagle cargo drone is currently undergoing ground testing and certification is planned for a near-future date. In late-2018, the aircraft is expected to be dropped out of the hold of a USMC MV-22 tilt-rotor aircraft.
Apart from its military applications, YEC said the Silent Eagle could also be used for humanitarian relief activities because of its ability to reach far-off, inaccessible areas.

Nol van Fenema

Spohr puts his foot down
Lufthansa Cargo’s step to take over the freight activities of Brussels Airlines became apparent on February 5th. On that very day, the German Airline’s CEO Carsten Spohr announced profound management changes at Brussels Airlines (SN), replacing their long-time CEO Bernard Justin by Lufthansa’s Christina Foerster with effect from 1. April. A strategic decision aimed at better integrating the Belgian carrier, that belongs 100 percent to LH since December of 2016, into the German airline group’s operational activities.

Mixed steering team
A major result of Mr Spohr’s strategic ukase can be seen now: Lufthansa Cargo will take over the freight business of SN. As LH Cargo’s Head of Communications, Jacqueline Casini, told CargoForwarder Global, beginning next September, a mixed team consisting of Lufthansa Cargo and Brussels Cargo managers and based at Brussels Airport will become responsible for marketing the capacity of the lower decks of Brussels Airlines’ wide-body fleet. Part of the deal is that the Belgian carrier’s staff, working in the cargo department, will change employers, switching to Lufthansa Cargo.  

African specialist
According to information obtained by CFG, the contract between SN Cargo and their main general sales agent Air Logistics Group expires at the time when the new LH/SN Cargo team takes over control. It can be expected that most of the sub-agents based above all in sub-Sahara Africa will not be affected by the change since the two carrier’s current intercontinental networks will not be affected. 
Right from the start, when Brussels Airlines first took to the skies back in March of 2007, succeeding bankrupt Sabena, Africa became and still is the Belgian airline’s core market where 17 destinations are serviced. This network, including flights to Dakar, Kinshasa, Abidjan or Lomé, to name but a few, adds very nicely to Lufthansa Cargo’s own Africa routes that are rather anything but significant except for their Nairobi and Johannesburg flights. 

Complementing networks
This point is strongly emphasized by Alexis von Hoensbroech, Chief Commercial Officer at LH Cargo: “Brussels Airlines' African destinations are complementary to our existing network, thus fitting our own connections ideally," he states. Conversely, Brussels Airlines customers have full access to Lufthansa Cargo’s own network, including that of Austrian Airlines, SunExpress, AeroLogic and the long-haul routes of budget carrier Eurowings.

Growing freight empire
With the lower deck compartments of 10 wide-body A330 passenger aircraft operated by Brussels Airlines, substantial capacity will be added to Lufthansa Cargo’s freight empire.
In a release, Christina Foerster, CEO of Brussels Airlines as of 1st of April, emphasizes the advantages of the upcoming partnership: "Lufthansa Cargo has a lot of experience in marketing the cargo capacities of passenger airlines. This cooperation will help us to make even better use of the holds of our fleet.” Conversely, Frau Foerster points out that Brussels Airlines as European Africa specialist “can add new destinations to Lufthansa Cargo's offering."

Heiner Siegmund

NRT is Japan’s cargo heavyweight
Narita is by far Japan’s largest cargo airport, handling 2 million tons annually. This accounts for more than 50 percent of all goods transported by air to and from the East Asian country. Major exports consist of automobile parts, semiconductors, electronic components and devices, as well as scientific optional equipment. On the import side it is mostly prestige cars, communication equipment, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, and electronic components.

Successful GDP certification
Simultaneously, Cargolux announces the successful renewal of its GDP certification.
The “Good Distribution Practices”, implemented by the EU in 2013, defines distribution, transport or storage of pharmaceutical and medical goods, applying to airlines, handling agents, forwarders, wholesalers and manufacturers of this kind of sensitive produce. 
In early 2014 the carrier became the world’s first GDP certified airline, confirming its compliance with EU GDP/WHO requirements and Cargolux’s dedication to operate a consistent quality management system across the transportation process. In a release, the airline stresses that its hub at Luxembourg airport as well as 12 other stations within its network are also GDP and/or CEIV Pharma certified via its subcontracted service partners, the ground handling agents. “The expertise of the handling agents on the ground, the dedication and skill of the Cargolux staff along with the commitment to excel customers’ service expectation during transportation have all contributed to achieve the certification,” reads their announcement on GDP certification valid for another year.

Heiner Siegmund