Category Archives: Aviation

“We expect the forthcoming budget to provide a balance between the economic growth priorities and inflation concerns, in an all-encompassing manner. The momentum of growth at which India has come up post the pandemic cannot be declined. We believe that the budget 2022 will be very carefully structured to sustain the growth momentum and continued infrastructure development, irrespective of the ups and downs,” says, Vineet Agarwal, Managing Director, TCI while sharing his views and expectations on the upcoming budget 2023-2024. “As the government’s vision to ease supply chain bottlenecks is quite evident in the scale of decisions and initiatives which have been undertaken in the recent past. The continued focus on execution of specific strategies will improve global competitiveness. Reducing logistics cost and creating a technology-enabled structure will help to achieve the target of positioning India among the top 25 countries in the Logistics Performance Index. In addition, emphasis on upskilling programs like Gati Shakti Vishwavidalya will help the logistics sector contribute its best in India leading the Industrial Revolution 4.0 & 5G era,” he adds.

Mahesh Malik, Chief Commercial Officer – CarGo, IndiGo, shared his predictions for 2023 and said, “We are evaluating various opportunities available in this sector. Recently, we commenced domestic operations of our first A321 Freighter aircraft between Delhi and Mumbai, carrying 20 tons of general and e-commerce CarGo and our first international A321 P2F freighter flight between Kolkata and Yangon on November 22, 2022, with the payload of more than 19,000 kg. In general, Indian airlines are increasing their cargo capacity with the segment emerging as a critical and promising revenue stream. The dedicated freighter fleet of India has seen a dramatic rise to 28 aircraft from 5 over the last few years. As demand increases the number of freighter fleet is expected to rise as airlines in India are looking to add dedicated aircraft for cargo operations. The cargo operations across the aviation industry fared better than passenger segment amid the pandemic and helped the aviation industry stay afloat. Our plan is to develop a profitable network which will include expanding to international destinations such as Hong Kong and Vietnam. However, we will continue to build a robust CarGo network domestically and focus on expansion to tier II- III cities through our fleet of passenger narrow body aircraft.”

Air Canada is preparing to expand its Vancouver, British Columbia, cargo terminal in preparation for receiving two 777 factory-built freighters from Boeing that will operate on trans-Pacific routes, said Jason Berry, vice president of cargo in a statement. The upgrade is part of a large program to improve cargo hubs across its network. Air Canada currently occupies a stand-alone facility that processes shipments moving on passenger aircraft at Vancouver International Airport. A tenant in an adjacent hangar is moving out and Air Canada will begin work in January on connecting and refurbishing the two buildings. “We’re in the early stages of just determining flow and process and how do you want it to look. It’s a big commitment for us,” Berry said.

Qantas Freight is expecting record volumes of freight in December as domestic demand surge due to increases in online shopping. The freighter operator said that it expects to carry around 26,000 tonnes of freight to domestic, regional and international cities, which would be an increase on last December’s record volumes and up around 50% on average monthly uplift. Meanwhile, domestic volumes are expected to be up around 75% on pre-Covid levels as online shopping deliveries ramp up. Qantas Freight operates 19 dedicated freighters domestically, including up to 16 for Australia Post, and four international freighters. Qantas executive manager for freight, Catriona Larritt, said: “Along with our partner Australia Post we’ve been planning for this bumper season since last Christmas. “We’ve seen huge increases in online shopping since the start of the pandemic and remains strong. “In the last few weeks of December, many people super-charge their online shopping sprees to take advantage of door-to-door express deliveries for themselves as well as gifts for family and friends.” To meet the demand, the company is rostering on more staff, using bigger aircraft and putting on special charter services. “In the busiest days leading up to Christmas we’ll carry around 1,200 tonnes of cargo, around double our daily average amount across our freight fleet and in the belly of passenger flights,” she added. “Our domestic services alone will be moving up to 650 tonnes on the busiest nights.” Australia Post general manager premium services and international Mark Davies added: “This year has been bigger than ever for us, in fact to help support the increase in parcel and mail volume we have increased our dedicated freighter capacity by up to 50% in the …

Cargolux and DB Schenker have added a direct API interface to their respective IT systems that will allow the forwarder to book capacity on the freighter operator’s aircraft. The carrier said that the connection would provide a direct interface between both companies’ systems to “generate tailored and immediate, bookable quotes”. Cargolux’s Austria, Spain and Portugal offices were selected to participate in the project. The interface offers dynamic pricing options based on specific requirements such as weight, routing, and product type. Cargolux executive vice president sales & marketing Domenico Ceci said: “The implementation of API offers customers more choice and flexibility when booking their cargo with us. “Launching this venture in collaboration with a key customer such as DB Schenker highlights both companies’ wish to pursue digitalisation and continue looking for innovative solutions in the industry.” Stefan Spriestersbach, head of production systems, DB Schenker global airfreight, added: “The new connectivity will further transform our joint process into the latest technology and is clearly a remarkable milestone of the professional collaboration. “This innovation brings benefit to all stakes of our transportation chain through digital proposition and exchange – Cargolux as preferred partner, our global customer base and the entire global Air Freight network of DB Schenker.”

Over the next decade, we will invest in new infrastructure and facilities to meet demand. With the fast-paced growth in business and rising demands, we intend to remain at the forefront of providing world-class facilities, infrastructure and technology to our customers, partners and stakeholders,” said Satyaki Raghunath, Chief Strategy & Development Officer, Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL). “We are looking at the development of a new domestic cargo terminal, refurbishing the existing cargo terminals with enhanced capacity and the expansion of cold-chain facility. With the government getting involved and focusing on logistics efficiency and infrastructural development through initiatives like Gati Shakti and NLP, we are expecting to have an extremely favourable environment to grow our cargo business. We believe that we can cater to around 1.5 million MT of cargo annually in the next decade and we are preparing for that,” he added. Airfreight volumes through BLR Airport have grown considerably over the last 10 years with a CAGR of 11 per cent (pre-COVID). According to internal estimates, the Airport’s unconstrained cargo potential is estimated to be 1.7 – 1.9 million metric tonnes per annum (MTPA) by 2038. This estimate was arrived at considering the natural catchment areas of Bangalore and the proximity of trucking distance that is approximately 7-12 hours from major export and import hubs in the region.  The design capacity of the airport’s cargo operations by the end of the financial year FY 21/22 was enhanced from 570,000 MTPA to 715,000 MTPA, he further informed.

Geodis has signed an agreement to acquire trans-o-flex, a leading company in the premium express sector in Germany specialized in temperature controlled transport for pharmaceutical products as well as in time definite delivery of products for cosmetics, automotive and high-tech industries. Since 2016 the company is owned by the families Schoeller and Amberger who have invested to scale it up to a leading specialized distribution player. Marie-Christine Lombard, Chief Executive Officer of GEODIS, said: “The acquisition of trans-o-flex is a key step forward enabling us to increase our footprint in Germany. It is consistent with our ambition to strengthen our global end-to-end logistics solutions to support our customers’ growth and geographic development. This acquisition will position GEODIS as a leading player in the healthcare market and will significantly enhance our delivery capabilities in Germany, a country at the heart of global trade. We have been impressed by the expertise and the commitment to the highest quality of service of trans-o-flex’s management team. We welcome the trans-o-flex team to GEODIS and together we believe we can further support our customers on both sides by combining our respective and complementary strengths in Germany, in Europe and globally. In order to achieve this, we have agreed with Christoph Schoeller, who is currently trans-o-flex’s Chairman of the Advisory Board, Vice-Chairman of the supervisory board and shareholder with Peter Amberger, that he will remain as Vice-Chairman of the new supervisory board presided by myself.”

CMA CGM Air Cargo will place its capacity on booking portal CargoAi as it looks to expand its reach with SME forwarders. CMA CGM is the 71st airline to place its capacity on the CargoAi portal and that the addition meant that forwarders can search from 195 origins to 447 destinations. The portal is also the first online marketplace to offer CMA CGM capacity for instant booking “in line with CMA CGM’s first own scheduled freighter service from Paris to Hong Kong SAR and vice versa”. Matt Petot, founder and chief executive of CargoAi, said: “We have been growing very fast thanks to our different approach and special focus on making it simple for our airlines to integrate and for our forwarders users to make bookings. “Our unique combination of tech and air cargo talents has helped to showcase that CargoAi can deliver modern tech solutions at a very fast pace to this industry. “We have still a lot of work to do and 2023 looks already very exciting as CargoAi will focus on delivering new solutions outside of our e-booking platform (CargoMART) and work on customized projects for our partners.” Magali Beauregard, chief commercial officer of CargoAi, added: “We’re thrilled that CargoMART becomes the first marketplace to sell CMA CGM’s freighter service. This is a great addition to our existing airline portfolio that users on www.CargoAi.co get benefit from.” CMA CGM Air Cargo is owned by shipping giant CMA CGM and launched operations in 2021.

Recently-launched Georgian Airlines has added a third freighter to its fleet as it looks to capitalise on cargo volumes travelling between Asia and Europe. The airline has added a third B737-800 converted freighter through a deal with Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings subsidiary Titan Aviation. The aircraft is being added through a long-term dry lease deal. Irakli Mezvrishvili, general director of Georgian Airlines, said: “As we expand in the airfreight market, we are honoured to partner with Titan Aircraft Investments to bring more air cargo capacity to the region with the addition of the 737-800 freighter. “We look forward to a strong partnership with Titan’s excellent team as they help us meet market demand and capitalise on cargo flows between Asia and Europe.” The cargo carrier commenced operations in February 2022 and offers cargo charter and regular flights across Europe, the Baltic region, the Caucasus, the Black Sea Region, the Middle East, eastern, and southern Asia. The airline said that the Black Sea region is a key transit and trade corridor for Eurasian countries and believes the Georgia has the potential to become an important hub for the aviation industry.

Aircraft operator ASL Aviation Holdings has partnered with Reliable Robotics to explore the possible use of autonomous freighter aircraft. The two companies will select a suitable aircraft for Reliable’s Remotely Operated Aircraft System with an initial focus on large twin-engine turboprop freighters. ASL and Reliable will jointly assess the demand for remotely operated aircraft in Europe and in addition to remotely piloted air cargo services, the companies will evaluate aircraft suitable for remotely piloted humanitarian operations. ASL Aviation Holdings director Hugh Flynn said: “This collaboration between ASL and Reliable is anchored on a common purpose to fully evaluate how remote and single pilot technologies can be developed and used to deliver safe, reliable and cost-effective cargo and passenger services. “At ASL we are looking at how new technologies will change and improve aviation, and how we can be at the forefront of that change to offer enhanced services to our customers.” Myles Goeller chief business officer of Reliable Robotics added: “ASL and Reliable see urgent market demand for automated systems that will enhance safety, increase utilisation of aircraft assets and support sustainability goals. ASL shares our commitment to investing in pioneering technology development to serve industry needs and improve how goods and people are transported.”