IN BRIEF, THE LATEST CARGO AIRLINE INDUSTRY NEWS.
Cargolux gets Quest for Quality Award
The Luxembourg-based all cargo carrier Cargolux seems to be receiving one award after the other during the past twelve
months. On October 11th the carrier made it known that it has received the Logistics Management’s Quest for Quality Award as Best All-Cargo Airline 2018.
This award is not only restricted to the airline industry but has in the past been given to companies from the automotive, rail, freight forwarders and intermodal services branches. The voting
process is arranged through the Transport News subscriber base and takes into account criteria such as timely performance, value and customer service and the suchlike. Pier Curci, Cargolux Vice
President Sales and Marketing for the Americas received the award on behalf of the airline at a ceremony held in Nashville. He stated that “this award is a strong recognition of our efforts to
provide service excellence to our customers and promote sustainable business.”
Fraport reports first nine months figures
Frankfurt Airport and the Fraport Group have published their September and also the first nine-months 2018 figures which show a continued growth pattern in almost all sectors.
Cargo declined however during September and fell by 1.4% compared to the previous year to 185.042 tons. In contrast, passenger figures continued to climb and a total of 6.6 million passed through
the airport in September. An increase of 6.3% on last year.
The first nine-months figures show air cargo tonnages handled reaching only 1.6 million tons - a decrease of almost 1% compared to January - September 2017. A total of 53 million passengers were
handled in this period which represents an increase of 8.4%. The Fraport Group’s holdings in other airports record a positive performance for the first nine months. The 14 Greek airports in
Fraport’s portfolio recorded almost a 9% increase in passengers. Similar results were achieved in all other airports ranging from Brazil to Turkey, Peru, Slovenia and Russia.
Volga-Dnepr takes care of the bottles
Volga-Dnepr Airlines recently organised a charter flight to deliver a specialized bottle- filling machine and ancillary equipment to Entebbe, Uganda. The bottle-filling machine which was
manufactured by German company Krone was loaded onboard one of Volga-Dnepr’s large AN-124-100 freighters at Munich Airport and flown to Entebbe where it will be installed in the Crown Beverages
bottling plant. Crown Beverages is the country’s leading soft drinks manufacturer and the new system delivered by Volga-Dnepr will boost production which is said will enable a smoother
distribution of their products throughout Uganda and East Africa. It was no easy task to load the new bottling plant into the AN-124 freighter. The VD engineers used special loading equipment
which was carried on board the aircraft to enable a speedy offload in Entebbe.
The carrier has recently also been active in supporting the relief aid for earthquake and tsunami victims on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. One of the carrier’s IL-76 freighters delivered a
water purification plant for the island which was shipped from France’s Vatry Airport.
Omni Air taken over by ATSG
U.S. ACMI and passenger charter carrier Omni Air International based at Tulsa International Airport and which operates a fleet of 13 B767 and B777 aircraft, is being acquired by the Ohio-based
Air Transport Services Group (ATSG) in a deal which is said to cost ATSG US$845 million. The agreement also includes the sale of Omni Aviation Leasing and daughter company T7 Aviation
Leasing.
ATSG also owns two cargo carriers - namely ABX Air and Air Transport International as well as Cargo Aircraft Management (CAM) which lease out aircraft to serve Amazon’s U.S. domestic network. It
has been reported that Omni will continue to operate as a separate ATSG subsidiary and the expectation is that the carrier will add around US$430 million annually into ATSG’s coffers.
Jettainer collaborates with CORE
A strategic partnership has been signed between ULD management specialist Jettainer and Florida-based CORE Transport Technologies. The agreement means that Jettainer will use the COREInsight
tracking system which is based on Bluetooth technology in their fleet of more than 90,000 ULDs. Both companies stated that the CORE seminal tracking system will lead to a better streamlining of
the Jettainer ground processes with their airline customers and enable a fully automated inventory. There will be no complicated changes or certification necessary to the ULDs. Jettainer says
that ‘Bluetooth tags which can be easily fitted to containers will be automatically recorded and evaluated by strategically installed readers at the airports.’
Ian Craig, CEO of CORE stated that “our Bluetooth solution was initially designed as a simple tracking solution for ULD inventories. But when we implemented he system at the major airlines in
2017, it quickly became clear that the large amount of data and the ability to analyze ULD movements would bring many benefits.”
Suzy Wardle heads Virgin Cargo’s Digital
Virgin Atlantic Cargo has appointed Suzy Wardle as their new Head of Digital and Distribution. She will take responsibility for delivering the carrier’s digitisation programme which is aimed at
allowing Virgin Atlantic Cargo’s customers to interact in new and innovative ways of streamlining cargo flows.
She has been on seat since the end of September and is based at Virgin Atlantic’s VHQ which is situated near London Gatwick Airport. Suzy Wardle has been with Virgin Atlantic for the past five
years where she has held a number of digital roles, the most recent being as Chief Product Owner for the passenger-facing digital channels.
American Cargo has a firm foot in Milan
American Airlines Cargo recently invited Italian clients to view their newly opened 5,000 sq. m. cargo handling facility at Milan Malpensa Airport. American operates daily flights from MXP to
their New York (JFK) and Miami hubs. The facility which is operated by ground handler Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) was decided upon by American Cargo due to the increasing demand for handling
space for goods from northern Italy to the United States. These include fashion goods, automotive parts and pharmaceuticals. The new warehouse also offers temperature-controlled space which is
essential for the proper handling of pharma products.
John Mc Donagh