A brand with a vision: Cathay Cargo
The sleeker and easier to read and recognize a brand is, the more successful it performs. Cathay Cargo has rebranded, dropping the Pacific in its name, immediately creating better marketing
aerodynamics. The rebranding was announced on 23FEB23, along with its vision “to become one of the world’s greatest service brands,” and upholding the values of the Cathay group, and
building on its established reputation and 70+-strong network. On the visual side, the rebranding includes the cargo airline’s website which allows users quick access to relevant features such as
booking, track and trace, and flight availability. The website, similar to its passenger peer, provides information on campaign offers and featured solutions, intended to “create more value
for customers and partners. Cathay Cargo will have more exciting initiatives in the coming months as the company works toward a complete rebrand,” the release promises.
The company has also been overhauling its products to meet changing customer requirements, and recently relaunched updated versions of Cathay Priority and Cathay Pharma, with Cathay Mail due to
be refreshed in MAR23.
Group Chief Executive Officer, Ronald Lam, detailed: “Cathay’s cargo business has played a vital role in the success of the Cathay Group since 1946, when we carried our first shipment between
China and Australia. Our cargo services operate out of our home base of Hong Kong, which is also the world’s busiest international air cargo hub. This is an opportune moment to align our cargo
business with the master brand as we continue our cargo investments in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area for a promising future. This rebrand reflects our Cargo business’ commitment to the same
‘Move Beyond’ ambition as the Group, while building on a strength that the Cathay brand has long been known for – offering leading-edge services to our customers.”
Director Cargo, Tom Owen, stated: “Cathay Cargo continues to innovate new solutions, services and technology for customers as we build towards being one of the world’s greatest service
brands. Continued investment in technology and logistics will solidify our position as a leading player in the industry.”
A new cargo airline in South Africa: Suid Cargo Airlines
More than twenty destinations are planned in an initial “non-scheduled” service from the second quarter of this year, operating out of the new airline’s hub at Johannesburg's OR Tambo
International Airport. Suid Cargo Airlines, which will at first deploy a Boeing 727-200 freighter that it is leasing from Kenya’s Astral Aviation Ltd., is eyeing Mozambique, Madagascar, Malawi
Mauritius, Zambia, Namibia, D R Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Angola and Rwanda. It plans to carry South African export goods and transit shipments as well as 'Sea Air' Cargo from Durban and
Cape Town ports, and chartering Boeing 747-400F, Boeing 767, and Boeing 757F from Astral where required. As it begins to gain ground, Suid Cargo intends to operate its own Airbus 320F or Boeing
737-800F in 2024, and Embraer 190 freighters in 2025. “Suid Cargo will enter into long-term partnership with freight forwarders, consolidators, integrators, e-commerce retailers, and shipping
lines, in addition to interlining with African and Foreign Airlines, to promote the Johannesburg Hub with plans to transition to scheduled services in 2024, which will include operating a
domestic network,” the release states.
The news was released at the Air Cargo Africa 2023 event in Johannesburg on 23FEB23, by Thomas Honiball, Suid Cargo’s Accountable Manager and CEO. He was appointed to his position in AUG22 and
tasked with setting up the company as an accredited Cargo Only Airline in South Africa. Kevin Moodley, Commercial Director of Suid Cargo Airlines, pointed out that the airline’s focus on Sea-Air
Cargo from the Ports of Durban and Cape Town will reduce transit times to Africa’s land locked regions.
Astral Aviation's CEO, Sanjeev Gadhia, announced: “We are honored to support South Africa's newest Cargo Airline, Suid Cargo Airlines, initially with our Boeing 727-200F, and to offer our
fleet of B747-400F, B767F and B757F on charter basis, which will enable the start-up cargo airline to scale its operations to cover Southern, West and East Africa including Asia, Middle East and
Europe.”
Awery provides open access to its CargoBooking Platform
It looks like Awery opened the dictionary and landed in the S-section, since it announced on 22FEB23, that it is releasing a new Open Access version of its online booking and quoting portal,
CargoBooking, and initially rolling this out in South Africa, Switzerland, and Spain. The first country was clear: the news was revealed at the Air Cargo Africa conference being held there, in
Johannesburg, attended by Awery’s Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), Tristan Koch, and Awery’s recently appointed Head of CargoBooking, Anna Balan. Experienced in both software development as well
as freight forwarding, she will be responsible for the subscription-free solution. Her comment: “The automation that CargoBooking brings to the sales process, will lead to tangible benefits
such as cost saving and operational efficiencies, as well as providing an additional sales distribution channel. The efficiency and responsiveness of the air cargo industry is dependent on quick
and accurate communication between stakeholders in the supply chain, something that can only be achieved by the global uptake of air cargo digitalization.”
Tristan Koch declared: “We believe in an air cargo digital democracy, and by offering an open-access version of our CargoBooking platform, we can help drive that transformation to the benefit
of all players in the industry. The air cargo market across Africa is full of potential, and stakeholders here will benefit hugely from a digital approach. We would like to hear from all players
in the African air cargo industry to discuss how we can help them to take advantage of CargoBooking.”
Awery’s solution (CFG reported: https://www.cargoforwarder.eu/2022/09/25/awery-aviation-software-three-pillars-four-players/ )
is a software that enables airlines and General Sales Agents (GSAs) to provide freight forwarders with real-time air cargo rate distribution, quotes, and booking options. It includes Awery's
eMagic solution, which quickly converts email and text enquiries from various formats and languages into a standard data format and transmits that information to the relevant modules: bookings,
payments, track and trace services, resulting in an end-to-end fulfilment solution. Live and ready-to-use, the freely accessible CargoBooking solution has already been adopted by General Sales
Agent, ATC.
Qatar Airways Cargo continues its digitalization drive
The latest digital platform to become a Qatar Airways Cargo partner, is the South Korean, all-in-one air cargo platform, iNOMAD – part of the Woojung Air Group. As the first company to enable API
connectivity to airlines in Northeast Asia, iNOMAD provides enhanced airline rates and capacity visibility to its customers in South Korea. The platform now includes Qatar Airways Cargo flights.
This partnership greatly benefits one of Qatar Airways Cargo’s largest customers in the country: the consolidator, Woojung Air. Its SME customers can now more easily compare and select the
airlines’ offers. At the same time, Qatar Airways Cargo will benefit from increasing market share as it becomes a more visible and accessible choice in South Korea.
Mr. Guillaume Halleux, Chief Officer Cargo at Qatar Airways said: “Digital transformation is high on our agenda as part of our VISION 2027 and Next Generation Strategy. The integration and
partnership with iNOMAD brings multiple benefits to our customers in South Korea, such as enhanced visibility of our capacity, rates, as well as real time confirmation of their shipments.
Customers can benefit from instant access to these features at their fingertips and that is the huge advantage digitalization brings in.”
Joon-suk Yim, the CEO of iNOMAD, commented: “Its strength is to promote the accessibility of air cargo service by optimizing extensive logistics data for clients, and providing boundless
service and information to both IATA/CASS members and non-members in real-time. Developing this business, we are grateful and proud to start a new partnership with Qatar Airways, a top-tier
airline that can provide us with vital information in expanding our logistics service. We aim to become a search engine for the air logistics field in which clients can check the information they
need in real-time, regardless of time and place. We thus plan to do our best to nourish our customized services to build a stronger partnership, cherishing the meaningful opportunity to join
Qatar Airways Cargo’s digital transformation.”
Recently established iNOMAD is on a growth strategy – last year it already expanded to Hong Kong, and a Vietnam launch is planned for 2024. It aims to furnish a 20,000 m² logistics center at
Incheon International Airport as a smart air cargo platform terminal in SEP23, with smart devices and a security x-ray inspection system to provide safe and advanced logistics services.
Three times the size and growing: Chapman Freeborn
By the sounds of things, if Chapman Freeborn were a 50-year-old person, they would be the type that runs triathlons for fun, and is completely on the ball with the world's fourth industrial
revolution. Why? Because the company will be celebrating its 50th anniversary come May of this year, and has just announced expansion plans that look to continue for a while. At last week’s Air
Cargo Africa conference in Johannesburg, South Africa, the company’s Africa team met with customers and stakeholders, to explain and discuss its strategies.
Following a 30% year-on-year increase in cargo revenues in its South African market during 2021 to 2023, the charter specialist took the decision to triple the size of its regional team, which
also led to an office move into larger facilities in Johannesburg in February. Its African product portfolio is being further developed by Sharon Vaz-Arab, a member of Chapman Freeborn's new
regional management team. Her focus includes cargo charters, live animals (AVI), and on-board courier (OBC) products. Chapman Freeborn’s main customer base deals with oil and gas, energy, and
automotive imports, and the company has increased its short-term and medium-term block charters and the development of its Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance (ACMI) leasing product. This
year should also see its expansion beyond South Africa to include entire sub-Saharan Africa.
Sharon Vaz-Arab, Regional Chief Executive Officer (CEO), India, Middle East, and Africa (IMEA), Chapman Freeborn, explained: “Infrastructure in Africa is developing quickly to support
international trade, and we see major advancements on the logistics and supply chain front. South Africa is high on automotive trade and our OBC product serves the sector's increasing calls for
time-sensitive, critical hand-carry movements that are faster than a charter or a courier. We have an extremely talented team in Africa, and my estimate is that if Chapman Freeborn's Africa
operations continue at this pace, we will need a much larger office by the year end.”
Teleport opts for ECS Group’s Wexco Group in Oz
Six months since Wexco Group and Teleport (formerly known as AirAsia) signed the GSSA contract in SEP22 to promote and grow the group’s three airlines, AirAsia X (D7), Thai AirAsia X (XJ), and
Indonesia AirAsia (QZ), are enjoying growing visibility and reliable belly load factors on their flights from Australia and New Zealand to their respective Asian destinations. Wexco takes care of
a total of 43 flights per week out of Sydney (SYD), Perth (PER), and Melbourne (MEL), offering an average weekly uplift of 120 tons. These include: 22 weekly AirAsia X A330-330 flights from SYD
to Auckland (AKL), and Kuala Lumpur (KUL), four MEL-KUL flights per week, and four PER-KUL services. These all connect via the airline's KUL hub to Asian destinations including Taipei (TPE) in
Taiwan, and Incheon (ICN) in South Korea. Thai AirAsia X operates seven weekly A330-300 flights: three MEL to Bangkok (BKK) services and four SYD-BKK flights, which link to Asian Pacific
destinations such as Japan and India. Indonesia AirAsia’s 14 weekly flights are operated with narrowbody A320 aircraft, twice daily between PER and Denpasar (DPS). Perishable cargo, health food
supplements, electrical goods, general cargo (consolidations), and mail are the main commodities transported, and Wexco’s 2023 goal is to build on these year-round perishable shipment flows, plus
increase its agent and commodity mix.
Francis Antony, Group Head of Cargo Commercial at Teleport, stated: “We are excited to collaborate with Wexco as a partner, who bring onboard their robust experience and quality customer
service to help better serve our cargo customers in this region. This is in line with Teleport's growth strategy for Australia and New Zealand, where businesses here can also take advantage of
our extensive ASEAN network for further distribution into the region.”
Cedric Millet, Managing Director of Wexco, commented: “Quality attracts quality. Our success in gaining the AirAsia group as a customer, grew out of an opportunity for Wexco during the
pandemic. We began operating charter flights in APR21, which led to close cooperation with Teleport head-office and resulted in an invitation to tender. The rest is history! We now enjoy an
excellent GSSA contract with 3 very dynamic airlines serving all the major Australian gateways, and offering a great network to New Zealand, South-East and North-East Asia. Wexco is the perfect
match for AirAsia airlines in Australia, on account of our shared impeccable reputation, our customer centric approach, and our adoption of the latest technologies to ensure optimum
revenues.”
One Master Rental Agreement signed
This time, it is All Nippon Airways (ANA) that has opted for DoKaSch Temperature Solutions’ Opticooler containers and signed a Master Rental Agreement to this effect. Japan’s largest airline,
which was also the country’s first to achieve IATA CEIV Pharma certification back in 2017, offers two temperature solutions: PRIO PHARMA (since 2012), a dedicated product for pharmaceuticals, and
PRIO TEMP, a temperature-controlled product for non-pharmaceuticals. These products will now be supported by DoKaSch’s Opticooler containers which come in two different versions: the Opticooler
RAP, capable of holding five euro pallets, or the RKN model which carries one pallet. As the name suggestion, the containers are able to regulate their temperatures without the need for dry ice,
and thus highly versatile when it comes to transporting sensitive pharmaceuticals, regardless of ambient temperatures.
Dai Yuasa, Vice President of Global Marketing, Cargo Marketing & Services, of All Nippon Airways, emphasized: “Securing cold chains is becoming increasingly relevant as Japan's pharma and
biotech industry is growing strong. By introducing the active temperature-controlled Opticooler with its very high level of reliability and safety, we would like to enhance our service level to
meet our valued customers' increasing demand to secure cold chains.”
Andreas Seitz, Managing Director of DoKaSch Temperature Solutions, stated: “Japan's strong pharmaceutical and biotech industry continues to strengthen its relevance in the entire Asia-Pacific
region as well as globally. […] Together with the opening of our new service station in Narita and the founding of our own Japan subsidiary, the Master Rental Agreement with ANA is another
important step in providing Japanese customers in particular with a reliable option for temperature-controlled transports.”
Challenge Group cuts a fine figure in fashion logistics
“10:00 on a Monday morning in Milan, Italy. A well-known designer label has just completed a final, last-minute collection which is listed to show at the New York Fashion Week in the
following few days. The designer's logistics manager immediately contacts Challenge Air Cargo, who arrange for a dedicated truck to collect the valuable haute couture and deliver it to Challenge
Handling at Liège Airport in Belgium later that evening. Experienced Challenge handling staff carefully transfer the high-priority shipment from the truck and load it onto the waiting Challenge
Airlines BE New York flight. The Boeing 747 freighter takes off the next morning, arriving in New York that same afternoon. Less than 48 hours after the urgent Milan phone-call, the world's
A-Listers and Who's Who in the fashion world admire the designer's latest creations as they are artfully modelled on the catwalk, stealing the show with their simplicity and line.”
This was the example promoted in Challenge Group’s PR this week which focused on the current Fashion Week’s business. London, Paris, Milan and New York, otherwise known as the Big Four, all take
place in February. Challenge Group has been in the business of fashion logistics for the past two decades. Last minute as above, is possible but rare. Rather, shipper, forwarder and Challenge
Group plan seasonally, and then ship out in the month running up to the event.
Between five and ten main deck positions per week fly from Liège to New York during that time, laden with often fragile fashion accessories, shoes, and hanging garments. Ten to fifteen weekly,
dedicated fashion main decks are blocked for China. Security is important. Every pallet is checked at origin against a specific internal checklist, boxed trucks are used, and all containers are
sealed using Challenge Group's own seals and are kept under the watchful eye of the Challenge Group security team.
Or Zak, Commercial Vice President of Challenge Group, said: “Milan, New York, and China Fashion weeks are routine staples in our annual Challenge Air Cargo operations. Unlike the haute
couture fashion collections themselves, which present incredibly stunning new designs every time, Challenge Group faithfully delivers its own consistent style: high quality, an eye for detail,
and seamless transport. A great deal of planning goes into ensuring that each Fashion Week is a perfect performance every time, showcasing the world's latest trends. Challenge Group, too, is a
trendsetter here in its own right!”
Twice a week to Dammam and Tashkent
Silk Way West Airlines’ latest network expansion includes scheduled freighter flights to Dammam King Fahd International Airport (DMM) in Saudi Arabia, and Tashkent International Airport (TAS) in
Uzbekistan’s capital city. Both destinations will be served twice per week out of Baku Heydar Aliyev International Airport, and represent significant air cargo gateways in their respective
regions. The additional flights are part of the airline’s strategy to grow in the Middle East and Central Asia, and the result of repeated charter operations to both destinations during the past
ten years, carrying general cargo/textiles, cars, perishables, among other commodities.
“With the launch of these routes to Dammam and Tashkent, the airline will enhance its role in the Middle Eastern and Asian continental freight network and improve the quality of air cargo
transportation services for both local and international partners,” the release explains.
Silk Way West Airlines’ Vice-President CIS and Central Asia, Vugar Mammadov commented: “The demand for transportation to the Middle East and on the Middle Corridor route continues to rise. As
a result, Azerbaijan is gaining increasing importance as a central logistics hub. We are pleased that now we can offer our customers regular flights from Baku to Dammam and Tashkent. We will
continue to increase the number of flights we operate, as well as the destinations we serve, as Silk Way West Airlines continues to expand opportunities for its customers around the world.”
A brief message from Brendan Sullivan. Image: IATA
Will we see you at IATA’s World Cargo Symposium?
Just over half a year since the air cargo world came together in London for the World Cargo Symposium (WCS) 2022, the WCS 2023 is shifting back to its normal, pre-pandemic schedule nearer the
start of the year, and will finally be taking place in the city it was due to be held in before the world shut down in MAR20. From 25-27APR23 – in just two months from now, the WCS will be held
at the Hotel Bomonti in Istanbul, Türkiye, and its focus title this time is “Moving Air Cargo Forward in an Age of Change!” Safety, Digitalization, and Sustainability
are again the information and discussion pillars that the agenda builds on, drilling down to Perishables, ULD & Operations, and New Tech & Innovation, as IATA’s Global Head of Cargo,
Brendan Sullivan explains in the brief, 40-second video on why the World Cargo Symposium is the leading industry cargo event, bringing together air cargo professionals and decision makers from
across the globe to exchange ideas, create new initiatives, and find innovative solutions to current challenges.
Brigitte Gledhill will be attending for CargoForwarder Global and looks forward to seeing you there. If you have not already registered for the WCS 2023, you can do so by clicking on this link,
now: https://web.cvent.com/event/498a1a70-7ac5-4481-8c4b-1e049cebaffa/summary And if you want to see the agenda first,
simply follow this link for the general roadmap:
https://www.iata.org/contentassets/4e4d3b50f3614011aef57357e594801e/wcs-2023-roadmap.pdf
Any questions regarding sponsoring the WCS 2023, branding or exhibition booths, can be channeled to IATA’s Business Development Director, Sandro Francini on tel:
+1 561-289-4796 or francinis@iata.org
Any wish to arrange an interview with CargoForwarder Global at the WCS 2023, or to discuss advertising possibilities in our weekly newsletter, can be forwarded to cargoforwarderglobal@kopfpilot.at
See you there!
Brigitte Gledhill
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