IN BRIEF - THE LATEST AIR CARGO INDUSTRY NEWS
Cool Chain to host Venlo perishables event
Luxembourg based Cool Chain Association (CCA) will be hosting the 5th Global Perishables Event which will be held in the Dutch town of Venlo on 14 and 15 May. The main theme of the perishable
show will be how the air freight supply chain can help to reduce food loss. There are statistics which show that there are staggering amounts of food wastage around the world every day. It is
estimated that a third of the world’s food goes to waste whilst millions are suffering from hunger and under nourishment around the world.
Stavros Evangelakakis, Chairman of the Cool Chain Association commented that: “our Global Perishables conference will bring together thought leaders from across the temperature-controlled supply
chain to discuss innovative ways to work together to help reduce food loss.” The two day event offers various workshops and speakers from IATA, AF-KL-MP cargo and others.
Bolloré Logistics expands in Hamburg
The French company opened the gates of a new dedicated Aerospace warehouse located in the vicinity of Hamburg’s large Airbus plant and next to the city’s seaport. The 7,000 square meter facility
was built in 2018 in accordance with international environmental standards.
Their Aerospace hub is equipped with a set of surveillance and intervention systems: CCTV, 32 surveillance cameras, an Access Control System on the 8 accesses of the Intrusion detection system
site.
It constitutes an additional link within the Bolloré Logistics' global Aerospace network, thus complementing a grid already in place. This secures the company’s presence at the production sites
of major aircraft manufacturers and their first-tier suppliers of parts and components.
The Hamburg facility becomes part of a network of Bolloré Aerospace hubs existing already in Toulouse, Marseille, Paris, London Heathrow, Amsterdam, Rome and Madrid. Bolloré Logistics' global
Aerospace division now has 1,200 experts in 100 countries, where 24 sites offer 150,000 sqm of total storage space for aircraft parts.
Indonesia interested in A400M
The state-owned Indonesian oil company Pertamina intends to order a number of Airbus A400Ms to be operated by its subsidiary Pelita Air Service and utilized for transporting air freight.
Originally intended to support military action – M stands for Military – the four engined turboprop aircraft has shown its ability as a cargo aircraft during humanitarian rescue missions
following a devastating quake in Palau last fall. Palau is a Micronesian island state located in the western part of the Pacific Ocean.
According to Indonesian media, Pelita Air Service plans to operate A400Ms to carry air freight and oil equipment between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea and to nearby Archipelagos.
So far it has not been disclosed how many A400Ms Pelita parent Pertamina plans to order. However, for manufacturer Airbus the sale of this aircraft to a new client would be a success after the
many technical problems the program was facing in recent years leading to a significant drop in orders.
Saudia Cargo returns to Guangzhou and Mumbai
The Arabian freight carrier has resumed freighter flights to Guangzhou and Mumbai this way reacting to growing demand. The weekly ops to both cities started already in April, complementing the
five weekly flights to Dhaka and daily services to Hong Kong. On the occasion of the network expansion CEO Omar Hariri of Saudia Cargo stated: “This operation reflects the company’s policy aiming
to enhance and increase trade activities between the Kingdom & both countries.”
On the Guangzhou route a Boeing 777 freighter is utilized while Mumbai is served with a Jumbo B47-400F.
Since the beginning of this year, Saudia Cargo has strengthened its presence on the Asian continent in order to fill the exceeding demand for air freight and logistical services through the
belly-capacity offered by the passenger fleet of the carrier.
In total, the airline operates 480 weekly passenger and cargo flights to 21 Asian destinations, offering an uplift capacity of 5,836 tons.
Aquiline planning B747 and B737 freighters
The Innsbruck, Austria-based airline Aquiline Austria, which was formerly known as Welcome Air is said to be seriously looking at acquiring A B747 freighter as well as B737 cargo aircraft. The
carrier, which is owned by Sharjah, UAE-based Aquiline International Corporation Ltd, was formed in 1999 and has a rather contradictory website which shows them having had a B747F and B737s in
the past. It is not clear as to whether the site is up-to-date.
Latest information is that a B747-400F and three B737-300Fs will come on line and be used for ACMI charters worldwide.
Fraport Q1 figures show continued growth
The Fraport Group, which runs Frankfurt Airport and has holdings in various other airports around the world, has reported a satisfactory 2019 first quarter.
Frankfurt Airport registered almost 14.8 million passengers during the first three months - an increase of 2.5% over the same period 2018. Aircraft movement went up by 3% to 116,581 takeoffs and
landings. However, cargo throughput suffered again in the first quarter. Tonnages declined by 2.3% to 527,151 metric tons although March cargo figures rose slightly by 0.2% compared to March
2018.
Fraport’s group activities at other airports generally performed well. They have holdings in 14 Greek airports and passenger figures there rose by 8.2%. All other airports in the company’s
portfolio showed attractive passenger increases.
ACS strengthens board
UK-based Air Charter Service which is a leading passenger and cargo charter specialist has announced that they have appointed Richard Carrick as a non-executive director on the company’s
board.
Carrick who is an industry veteran brings with him extensive experience in the air charter market. He was previously CEO of MyTravel and Hoseasons and has also held other CEO positions with
travel companies. He will be closely involved in the planning and development of ACS future expansion plans, the company states.
Tigers open new UK facility
Hong Kong-based Tigers Ltd, a global logistics and transportation company, has expanded in the United Kingdom by opening a new operational centre in Thurrock, near London Gateway.
This, the company states, is in line with their long-term UK investment plans and in order to meet growing e-commerce demand in the UK. The new Thurrock facility will ensure that a further 50
staff can be employed and also that the existing Basildon facility and its staff will all move into the new premises. The new facility is conveniently located just off the M25 motorway, is near
the port of Felixstowe and easily reachable from central London, they say. The Thurrock facility will be powered by Tigers advanced logistics platforms, providing B2B and B2C fulfillment, UK and
international distribution, and warehousing solutions.
LAS gets first B737 freighter
Bogotá, Colombia-based Líneas Aéreas Suramericanas (LAS), which operates a fleet of seven cargo aircraft, has taken delivery of their first B737-300 freighter. The aircraft positioned from Miami
to Bogota after having been converted from passenger configuration. The twenty-year-old aircraft was formerly in service with Latin American Wings.
LAS has five aging Boeing 727 freighters and one very old B727-100 freighter in service but has also placed an order with Boeing for two B737-800 BCF aircraft which will replace the older
aircraft in the fleet.
John Mc Donagh / Heiner Siegmund