Etihad Cargo has appointed Wallenborn Transports as its road feeder service (RFS) partner for Europe to expand its scheduled and specialised services across 27 countries, facilitating the transportation of cargo between Etihad Cargo’s main European gateways, including Amsterdam, Paris and Frankfurt, and offline stations. Etihad Cargo’s customers will benefit from the complete transparency provided by integrated telematics technology. “Providing seamless connectivity between Etihad Cargo’s European main freighter gateways and offline destinations is essential to meeting the carrier’s delivery promises,” said Etihad Cargo’s Head of Cargo Operations and Delivery, Thomas Schürmann. “Strategic partnerships with leading RFS providers such as Wallenborn strengthen Etihad Cargo’s value proposition and will enable the carrier to further expand operations in Europe, which is a key territory for the airline. “Etihad Cargo remains committed to being the air cargo partner of choice and is achieving this through the provision of fast, efficient and reliable transportation of cargo from its arrival in-country to its final destination.”

Freight forwarders and ground handlers face pain points like limited transparency, lack of visibility and infra within the air cargo ecosystem, says Sanjay Gupta, Chief Executive Officer, AISATS. These pain points not only create operational inefficiencies but also increase the overall cost of logistics, he adds saying, “AISATS’s upcoming multimodal cargo hub (MMCH) infra and cutting-edge technologies work to bring greater transparency and visibility to even the most complex cargo processes through digital documentation, real-time cargo tracking and predictive analytics for cargo delivery times.” Traditional air cargo gateways also tend to experience infrastructure bottlenecks and capacity challenges due to warehousing and logistics constraints. Our integrated approach allows us to leverage efficient design layouts and advanced technologies to alleviate these bottlenecks and optimize cargo flows, he further adds. “Technologies such as COSYS+, automated material handling systems, autonomous vehicles (for direct connectivity between the ICT and IWLZ), RFID trackers, Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning allow for a higher cargo throughput across less space with lower dwell times at the AISATS MMCH. Our Single Window Airport Cargo Community and Trucking Center will reduce these bottlenecks even further. We know how to process cargo through a multi-modal cargo hub with a deft combination of cutting-edge infrastructure, digital processes and timely data sharing, and this expertise allows us to overcome the usual bottlenecks to efficiently provide multi-modal just-in-time cargo facilities, with seamless connectivity and integration at reduced costs.”

An analysis of the data by Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) indicates, India’s merchandise exports have undergone a major shift in recent years. India’s share in the global export of machinery, phones, automobiles and petroleum has grown significantly between 2015 and 2022. Meanwhile, there has been a marked decline in India’s share in its traditional export items such as gems and jewellery, apparel, meat and leather articles. Exports of textiles, clothing and made-ups, for instance, fell by about 17% y-o-y in FY2023. The data shows India’s exports in the category called electronics, telecom, mobile phone etc., jumped from $7.9 bn in 2015 to $26.6 bn in 2022 — from 0.41% share of world market to 0.71%, a 73% rise. In machinery, India’s global market share rose from 0.75% to 1.05%, a growth of 40%. Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) shows India’s exports in the category called electronics, telecom, mobile phone etc., jumped from $7.9 bn in 2015 to $26.6 bn in 2022 — from 0.41% share of world market to 0.71%, a 73% rise. In machinery, India’s global market share rose from 0.75% to 1.05%, a growth of 40%.

Mahindra Logistics is in the process of revamping the operations of its subsidiary, 2×2 Logistics to boost the company’s automotive outbound logistics business, which caters to the four-wheeler and two-wheeler industries. The revamp involves a number of initiatives, including the refreshing of 2×2 Logistics’ fleet of vehicles, dome conversions, increasing the average running time of the vehicles and reworking routes, new technology solutions, and the strengthening of its customer relationships. 2×2 Logistics provides logistics and transportation services to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to carry finished automobiles from the manufacturing/assembly locations to stockyards or directly to distributors through specially designed vehicles. It owns and operates 150+ vehicle carriers. Mahindra Logistics, which owns 55 percent of the company, partnered with Indian Vehicle Carriers (IVC) in 2014 to form the entity.

Maastricht Aachen Airport (MST) unveiled its newly renovated runway. The second largest cargo hub in the Netherlands has invested EUR35.3 million to upgrade the airstrip as part of a plan to extend its operational length to 2,750 meters by January 2025. The eight-week renovation was part of Maastricht Aachen Airport’s overall infrastructure development plan to invest EUR100 million in the airport over the coming years. Sustainability was the key theme of the ceremony, with an electric plane used to officially open the runway after RWTH Aachen University professor Dr Günther Schuh delivered a speech on the future of sustainable aviation. “Today, we are celebrating the launch of our newly improved runway and looking back over the hard work that has gone into the planning and execution of this project – but we are also looking forward,” said Jos Roeven, Chief Executive Officer, Maastricht Aachen Airport.

Air France KLM Martinair Cargo (AFKLMP Cargo) has partnered with Salesforce and Vonage to implement a new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solution and improve customer services. By implementing the new single-platform CRM solution, integrated with a contact centre solution, AFKLMP Cargo aims to streamline customer processes and provide faster, better service by phone and digital channels, with more tailored support. Using technology from Salesforce and Vonage, customer service teams get a full 360-degree view of customers, allowing them to personalise interactions and provide tailored support across all channels. The full solution includes integrated telephony and AI-driven insights designed for an improved omnichannel service experience.

Neutral Air Partner launched its new air cargo logistics ecosystem with six sub-industry networks during its annual OPENAP conference last May in Greece. This year, NAP has reformed and strengthened its air cargo logistics platform, enabling members to network more efficiently with six sub-industry networks. The new structure provides air cargo logistics firms with the opportunity to apply for membership in a sub-industry network tailored to their specialization and the company’s core industry sector activities. Membership in Neutral Air Partner is an exclusive privilege extended to a selected number of elite local and regional airfreight professionals. Selection criteria ensure only the most suitable partners with niche-specific expertise are part of the network.

India Cargo Awards 2023 is back to honour and appreciate the hard work of the ‘Heroes’ of the Indian Air Cargo and Logistics fraternity. Known as the “Oscars of the Cargo Industry,” the India Cargo Awards 2023 is all set to be held on 24 July 2023, 7 pm at Hyatt Regency, New Delhi. The annual awards hosted by Cargo Talk (DDP Group Publication) serves as an all-India platform created with a vision to recognise excellence in the Cargo-Freight-Logistics Industry across various domains, including Rail, Road, Air, Sea, Allied Services, Warehousing, Technology, 3rd Party Logistics, and more. Our world-class awards ceremonies are known for their formal Black-Tie affair, filled with glitz and glamour, attended by the most influential personalities in the Cargo Industry.

Lufthansa Cargo announced the arrival of its third A321F, which took its first flight “on our routing from Malta to Milan, and was welcomed by our customers and colleagues on site,” says a LinkedIn post. The A321 was based in Singapore over several months, and underwent conversion from passenger to freighter aircraft, a so-called A321P2F (passenger to freighter version), the post added. “Now, 14 pallet and container positions are available to our customers in the main deck and 10 in the lower deck. This results in a total payload of 28 tonnes with a range of 3,500 kilometres. The transfer flight from Singapore took the aircraft via Bangkok, Muscat, Larnaca, and Munich.” The aircraft with the registration D-AEUI and name Dia dhuit Ireland will join two A321F freighters – Merhaba Türkiye and Hello Europe – and will contribute to the expansion of e-commerce offering in the European route network. “This route is one of our shortest freighter routes but of great value for Malta as it opens up new markets to the small island,” says Antonio Di Martino, Director, Sales & Handling Italy & Malta, Lufthansa Cargo. “After two months of frequencies, we are pleased with the development and see a lot of vulnerable and dangerous goods but also live animals on this routing. We are glad our A321F fleet is getting stronger with an additional freighter.

ST Engineering redelivered the first of the two A321 Passenger-to-Freighter (P2F) aircraft placed on lease to MNG Airlines, in a joint venture with Juniper Aviation. After several months of conversion, MNG Airlines’ first A321P2F called TC-MYA finally took off today morning from Singapore. “With a gross load capacity of approximately 28 tonnes, we are looking forward to our aircraft offering less emissions,” stated MNG Airlines. A.Sedat Ozkazanc, CEO, MNG Airlines says, “We are excited to complement our existing widebody fleet with this Airbus A321P2F narrowbody freighter and look forward to adding another one in the near future. This addition makes us the world’s first airline to operate all previous and current Airbus freighter programmes. This aircraft type also represents the epitome of our environmental commitments.” With the addition of this freighter aircraft, MNG Airlines will now enjoy the benefits of an expanded Airbus freighter portfolio comprising both the narrowbody A321P2F and widebody A330P2F platforms.