The rising cost of fuel has been an issue of concern for the aviation industry throughout 2022, but air cargo carriers have tackled the challenge successfully. Expensive fuel is not a new phenomenon, however, a perfect storm of economic and political issues has seen prices continue to rise this year until they flattened out in early July, as per S&P Global data shared by IATA. In February, against a backdrop of strong demand for still limited capacity due to the pandemic, the Ukraine-Russia war forced airlines to fly longer routes to avoid Russia-Ukraine airspace and increase their fuel usage, and now inflation is rising around the world. The latest data from the joint Platts – IATA Jet Fuel Price Monitor shows the jet fuel price for the week ending July 15 was up 85.7 per cent compared with a year ago at $146.4/bbl. The jet fuel price average for 2022 at the time of writing (year to date) is US$ 143.6/bbl. The impact of jet fuel price developments on 2022’s industry total fuel bill is US$ 134.3 billion.

As per a recent Airforwarders’ Association survey, while the air cargo business is decelerating after one of the industry’s strongest years ever, volumes remain robust, while many forecast the first half of 2023 to be relatively positive. Forecasts indicate airfreight will account for 25 per cent of airline revenue, especially after passenger revenue has been impacted during the ongoing pandemic. The positive outlook is tempered by existing global and macroeconomic challenges that could change the current prosperity wave, but freight forwarders remain prepared for what may lie ahead, stated the survey. They expect an early peak season as companies rush to deliver shipments trapped by the COVID-19-related lockdowns in China. Some freight forwarders anticipate this concern to result in an upsurge of air cargo shipments from Asia to the US as customers seek to avoid potential maritime bottlenecks. Main concern is the availability of capacity since most passenger flights from Asia, including their belly capacity, remain grounded.

Lufthansa Cargo is now offering Envirotainer’s Releye RAP temperature-controlled container to firms transporting pharmaceuticals. Envirotainer launched the RAP version of its Releye container in February, and the first commercial shipment using the said container was in March. The RAP version of the Releye container is the largest model of the container and can hold five pallets, compared with the existing 2021 model’s three pallets. “With the integration of this container, the carrier is committed to provide its customers with first-class products and services and to drive innovation,” said a statement from Lufthansa Cargo. “We would like to thank Envirotainer for their long-standing cooperation, which enabled us to expand and improve our offering for the pharma industry and temperature-sensitive goods.”

Board of Airline Representatives in Germany (BARIG) continues to strengthen its commitment to air cargo industry and supports the development of cargo and logistics, with the re-election of Michael Hoppe, BARIG chairman and executive director of the ‘airlines’ segment. He represents the interests of 100 national and global – passenger and cargo – airlines operating in Germany. Hoppe is a founding team member of the ACCF and has been engaged in the community since 2014. The re-election was done during the recent general assembly, ACCF. Cooperation and exchange among the different stakeholders have never been more important, especially with regards to the current bottlenecks in airport ops and handling services. Air cargo and logistics have demonstrated their central, system-critical significance for the economy in the society and needs to be improved. Only through good collaboration, the challenges can be overcome, said a BARIG statement. “Within the cargo community, we need to work to address effectively the contemporary lack of resources and disruptions in logistics processes and supply chains,” Hoppe said. “Our BARIG member airlines aim to drive forward important cargo-related topics and, as part of the executive board, we need to advance and stabilize ops in Frankfurt, Germany, and the world.”

FedEx Express is planning to build a new express centre at Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport as part of its long-term expansion plans. The company has signed an agreement with Guangdong Airport Authority Logistics Company to build a 41,000 sq. m facility that will more than double the size of its current gateway at the airport, said a statement. The facility is due to become operational in 2027 and will connect outbound shipments from customers in southern China with FedEx’s international network through the Asia Pacific Hub. “It will be able to sort up to 25,000 packages and documents per hour, three times the sorting efficiency of the current facility,” the company said. FedEx Express president of the Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa Kawal Preet said, “We continue to expand our network and service offerings to cater to the growing needs of our customers in the AMEA region and enhance their connections to global markets.”

Blue Dart is all set for expansion with the addition of bigger aircraft than it has ever had in its fleet, increasing charter operations to China and Vietnam, and building gateways in smaller towns in India. According to the reports, it will add two B737-800F priced at Rs 360 crore by the end of this year. The company, which has operational bases or gateways in seven cities in India, is for the first time looking to set up such facilities in smaller cities like Guwahati, Coimbatore, and Kochi to operate scheduled air cargo services there. The express logistics company currently has a fleet of eight freighter planes — six Boeing 757s, which will be phased out in a few years, and two Boeing 737-800s. It is also looking at Boeing 767s which will increase the tonnage per aircraft by 60 per cent, the reports added.

Emirates has announced plans to begin second daily flight between Dubai and Tel Aviv, which will also provide additional 20 tonnes of cargo belly-hold capacity for businesses, further opening global trade lanes through enhanced import and export opportunities, said an official statement. The second daily flight will be served by Emirates Boeing 777-300ER in a three-class configuration. “The new schedule will operate as follows: EK 933 departs Dubai at 0815 hrs arriving in Tel Aviv at 0950 hrs. EK 934 leaves Tel Aviv at 1150 hrs, arriving in Dubai at 1650 hrs.” The new flight also unlocks enhanced connectivity within Emirates’ global network such as Auckland, Brisbane, Perth, Bali, Seoul, and Singapore as well as points across India, among others.

To facilitate seamless logistic movement of Goods and Parcel service, Department of Posts in collaboration with Indian Railways has developed a customized Logistics solution for e-commerce players and MSMEs called Express Cargo Service. While Veena R. Srinivas, Chief Postmaster General, Maharashtra Circle briefed regarding the new initiatives of Department of Post and the prospects of logistics in Maharashtra Circle, G V L Satya Kumar, DRM, Western Railways discussed about the extension of collaboration throughout Maharashtra and beyond and Amitabh Singh, Postmaster General (Mails & BD), briefed about the operational details of Express Cargo Service. The first consignment of Express Cargo Service was despatched from Mumbai Central Railway Station through Gujarat Express. The launch of this product will be beneficial for timely delivery of goods and cargo from the industrial hubs located in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Surat, Vadodara, and Ahmedabad Region.

DRONAMICS has announced its very first strategic manufacturing partnership with Quickstep Holdings Limited, a tier one manufacturer and the largest independent aerospace composites business in Australia. This turnkey solution partnership will help DRONAMICS accelerate the production of the Black Swan cargo drones. With the first units landing in 2023, long-term plans target the ramp-up of production of hundreds of Black Swan cargo drones annually in the next four years. The agreement comes at a key time as it recently became the first cargo drone company to obtain a European drone airline license. The manufacturing will take place in Quickstep’s Australian facilities, globally recognised for their innovative engineering and premium manufacturing capabilities and trusted by the world’s most advanced aerospace players. Konstantin Rangelov, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of DRONAMICS said: “The first strategic manufacturing partnership is a key milestone in our mission to enable same day delivery for everyone, everywhere. As an innovator who is challenging the status quo in cargo mobility, we are thrilled to have the support of an experienced partner like Quickstep to help us realize the full potential of our solution.”

Emirates SkyCargo took delivery of its latest Boeing 777-F to boost its fleet capacity and cater to the growth in the industry. The carrier has seen significant increase in cargo loads across its products, including pharma and fresh produce. In 2021-22, annual tonnage carried crossed 2.1 million, an increase of 15%, with transport of perishables crossing 260,000 tonnes, and both pharma and valuable goods each growing by 17%. Nabil Sultan, Divisional Senior Vice President Emirates SkyCargo said, “The new freighter will help increase our capacity and boost our ability to deliver vital goods and facilitate trade globally. Despite the challenging headwinds this year, the air cargo industry is booming, and we’ve been flat out since the pandemic began. Emirates SkyCargo will continue its journey as one of the world’s largest and best air cargo airlines by investing in our fleet, our global network, technology, and world-class logistics infrastructure at our Dubai hub and beyond.”