The Tata owned airline, Air India has reportedly decided to procure the wide-bodied Airbus A350 aircraft. The first plane is likely to be delivered by March 2023, as per official reports. This will be Air India’s first wide-bodied plane from Airbus as the company only has Boeing wide body planes in its fleet. “Air India has deployed smaller single aisle Airbus A320 on domestic routes. The Airbus A350 has a bigger fuel tank that allows it to travel longer distances such as India-US routes. Also an Airbus is cheaper to own than the counterpart Boeing 777 and 787,” says reports. This will be first plane procurement for Air India since Tata took over the airline.

The brand-new jet, the Airbus A321XLR successfully departed on its first flight recently from its production site at Hamburg Finkenwerder. The A321XLR with registration F-WXLR performs a five-hour test flight over Northern Germany before returning to Hamburg. According to the European aircraft manufacturer, the Airbus A321XLR (Extra Long Range) is a further extended range version of the A321neo family aircraft. The new variant of the type can fly up to 4,700 nm / 8,700 km.

Qatar Airways Cargo has transported over 3 million tonne of air freight globally, accounting for 7.99 per cent share in the global market in fiscal 2021/22. The national airline said in its annual report for 2021/22, “This represents a tonnage growth of 272,975 tonnes in chargeable weight, up 10% on the same period in the previous year.” Serving over 65 dedicated freighter destinations and more than 140 belly-hold passenger destinations worldwide, the carrier mirrored its strong performance from 2020/2021, operating a maximum of 155 flights per day at its peak in June 2021, said report. The report noted Qatar Airways Cargo maintained its position as the world’s leading air cargo carrier throughout the financial year, forging ahead with a strategic focus on growth, sustainability and digitalisation, and supporting the continuity of global trade, despite the ongoing market challenges.

Akasa Air, backed by billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, took delivery of the first 737 Max aircraft from Boeing. “Congratulations #AkasaAir on the delivery of your first 737-8. We are excited for you and your passengers,” Boeing India tweeted. The airline had released the photographs of its first Boeing 737 Max plane from the production facility in Portland, US, last month, as it got ready for delivery. A statement issued by the airline read, “The Max aircraft will be powered by the fuel-efficient CFM LEAP B engine. Providing the lowest seat-mile costs for a single-aisle airplane as well as high dispatch reliability and an enhanced passenger experience, the 737 Max is one of the strategic factors that will give Akasa Air a competitive edge in its dynamic home market.”

To cater to growing demand, Sohar Port and Freezone have inked a deal with C. Steinweg Oman (CSO) to expand its storage area by 27 hectares (270,000 m2). The pact represents an investment in Sohar Port and Freezone by the C. Steinweg Group and strengthens Sohar’s position as the leading export facility for minerals, reads a release. Mark Geilenkirchen, CEO, Sohar Port and Freezone, said, “This agreement adds to our capacity to meet the growing demand for minerals and solidifies Sohar’s position as a major global cargo terminal. In 2021, Sohar exported 37 million tonnes of dry bulk cargo. With demand continuing to soar, C. Steinweg Oman and Sohar will be in a prime position to serve the needs of the market as well as Oman’s diversification and development of mega projects across the region.”

To develop and grow its cargo operations in the Asia-Pacific, Vietnamese leisure airline, Bamboo Airways, has selected integrated GSSA, Globe Air Cargo by ECS Group. Jilin Chiam, Country Manager, Singapore, Globe Air Cargo by ECS Group, said in a statement, “We are excited to represent Bamboo Airways, which is expanding its services in the APAC region. With cargo services to destinations such as Saigon, Narita, and Melbourne, the partnership with the carrier helps bridge the network across APAC and offer more solutions to our customers.” Bamboo Airways is currently focusing on cargo operations within its network and appointed Globe Air Cargo as its GSA representative in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

Shiprocket has signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Pickrr in an estimated $200 million deal. As per a company statement, “The consolidation creates a single gateway for other enablers and suppliers to service the growing digital retailer community. It aims at strengthening its position as the leading D2C enablement operating system.” Both the companies will now offer D2C companies a full-stack logistics and fulfilment platform, including same-day and next-day shipping, quick fulfilment, fast check-out, easy returns, and cross-border shipping, among others. Saahil Goel, Co-founder and CEO, Shiprocket, said, “We have an opportunity to define how retailers interact with logistics operators and consumers to create consumer delight. Shiprocket and Pickrr are uniquely positioned to capture this opportunity by laying the building blocks of this software infrastructure.”

Etihad Cargo has signed a MoU with B Medical Systems to develop and launch temperature-controlled solutions for the transportation of vaccines, life-saving drugs, and high-value pharmaceuticals says release. The MoU was announced during the BIO International Convention held in USA recently. “Etihad Cargo will collaborate with B Medical Systems to develop more sustainable temperature-controlled container units that work utilising passive cooling technology for global pharma distribution. The units will retain temperatures from -80 to 25 degrees Celsius for up to five days without requiring an external power source, with load capabilities ranging from two to 1,500 litres,” said a statement.

To develop e-commerce cargo routes between Asia and the US, Global Crossing Airlines (GlobalX) has signed an MoU with FreightCloud. The joint service using GlobalX Airbus A321 freighters may begin early 2023, moving to GlobalX-owned A330 freighters later that year, stated a release. FreightCloud’s financial partner Hudson Highland Partners will provide financing for the collaboration. The partnership will help FreightCloud in developing its Asia to US services by distributing shipments from hubs in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York to destinations across the Americas. Ed Wegel, Chair and Chief Executive at GlobalX. “The partnership will enable our cargo division, XCargo, to participate in the lucrative Asia to US cargo market, first with our narrowbody freighter fleet and eventually with our A330F fleet currently being planned,” the statement read.

The Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (DMICDC) and NEC have collaborated to provide logistics visualization services that would help to streamline India’s complex logistics supply chains and reduce logistics costs. An official statement said, “India’s rapid economic growth has been causing trouble for the country’s aging logistics infrastructure. Transporting goods around the country takes a long time and there are frequent delays. It is difficult to know exactly where shipments are at any given moment. Wishing to avoid the risk of running out of stock, consignors in the manufacturing industry have tended to overstock their inventories. The added costs of navigating complex logistics supply routes and overstocking have created barriers to attracting foreign investment and enhancing international competitiveness.” Piyush Sinha, CEO of DMICDC Logistics Data Services (DLDS), a joint venture company between DMICDC and NEC also stated, “The logistics cost is probably 13 to 14 per cent of total GDP. This must reduce to 7 to 8 per cent to make our exports more competitive.”