Category Archives: Aviation

During a discussion at US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) recently, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Minister of Civil Aviation, said that ramping up regional connectivity is the government’s new focus area. “To facilitate the same, plans are afoot to promote regional airlines, the helicopter industry and, simplify the procedures. A small aircraft scheme has also been rolled out to provide air connectivity to remote regions,” the minister said. Scindia added that the air cargo industry’s growth would be further supported by developments in other segments such as flight training organisations (FTOs), cargo and drones. 

Aircraft leasing company Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC) has signed a MoU with Kenya-based cargo airline Astral Aviation to place the first two Embraer E190F passenger-to-freighter (P2F) conversions. In May 2022, NAC and Embraer reached an agreement in principle to take up to 10 conversion slots for E190F/E195F, with first deliveries starting in 2024. The aircraft for conversion will come from NAC’s existing E190/E195 fleet. Sanjeev Gadhia, founder and chief executive at Astral Aviation, said: “We are honoured to be the launch operator of the Embraer 190F, which will be based in Astral’s Nairobi hub. It will operate on a combination of scheduled and charter flights on our intra-African network. The e-jets are well known for their efficiency, flexibility and sustainability. We are confident that the e-jet freighter platform will be a game-changing addition to our growing fleet.”

MOVIN, a logistics brand launched through a joint venture between UPS and InterGlobe Enterprises, is expanding its reach by adding “Express End of Day” services from Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, and Bengaluru to seven more cities. The newly added cities are Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Chennai, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata & Pune. With this expansion, MOVIN is adding more than 500 new PIN Codes to its existing network, now covering 1000+ PIN codes for guaranteed time-definite deliveries. This will further strengthen its offerings and help cater to customer demands in the ever-expanding B2B logistics space. Commenting on this announcement, JB Singh, Director InterGlobe Enterprises said, “MOVIN has received encouraging and positive feedback from its customers in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. By expanding its reach to these additional seven markets, MOVIN will now offer greater coverage to its customers along with the promise of time-definite delivery. We remain committed towards our mission of strengthening the network that lays a strong foundation for businesses and boosting opportunities for MSMEs and SMEs to sell and grow. Our focus is to provide best-in-class experience to B2B customers by bringing in higher levels of efficiencies, stronger distribution channels, advanced innovative technology, along with global best practices.”

Menzies Aviation has joined the Mission Possible Partnership (MPP), an alliance of climate leaders focused on decarbonising the world’s highest-emitting industries. “Global aviation is currently responsible for about 3 per cent of total global, anthropogenic CO2 emissions—having seen an increase by over a third between 2010 and 2019 alone. If aviation were unmitigated, it could be responsible for an even greater proportion of global emissions by 2050,” said a statement from Menzies. MPP, in collaboration with the Clean Skies for Tomorrow coalition, has published a new Aviation Transition Strategy that has been endorsed by over 60 aviation leaders, setting out a global strategy to achieve net-zero aviation by 2050. The report, Making Net-Zero Aviation possible: An industry-backed, 1.5°C aligned Transition Strategy, provides a series of actionable steps to be taken over the next decade to secure a transition towards carbon-neutral flying and deliver the goals of the Paris Agreement, said the statement. Actions include drastically improving fuel efficiency gains of aircraft, the rapid roll out of sustainable aviation fuel and market entry of hydrogen, battery-electric or hybrid powered aircraft, the statement added.

Kale Logistics Solutions (Kale) has signed a contract to extend its partnership with longstanding customer CHI Aviation Handling (CHI) by a further five years. With Kale as CHI’s strategic tech partner, the Frankfurt-based air cargo services provider has boosted the efficiency and productivity of its ground handling operations using Kale’s cargo management system, GALAXY, to digitalize cargo handling. “We have chosen to continue partnering with Kale to help support our vision digital transformation; we need a reliable IT system that can be easily implemented at every airport station where we are operating and Kale’s GALAXY is the best fit solution,” said Dominik Misskampf, MD, CHI Aviation Handling. “We share a common desire with Kale to create digital channels that make a difference in serving all our customers, both businesses and consumers, by increasing accessibility to our service and improving our response times,” he added.

Turkish Airlines and Vietnam Airlines have signed a MoU to strengthen bilateral cooperation, focusing on cargo. This will open up new opportunities to develop business among Turkey, Vietnam, Europe, and Middle East in transporting cargo and passengers. “Under the agreement, the two carriers will cooperate more closely on cargo operations with a view to initially implementing a codeshare in 2023,” said an official statement. Levent Konukcu, Chief Investment and Technology Officer, Turkish Airlines said, “Recovering from the crisis the pandemic brought to aviation sector, we all became aware of the crucial need of cooperation. We attach importance to expanding our co-operation with Vietnam Airlines both in passenger and cargo.”

UPS has announced the expansion of its global smart logistics network with a new airport gateway facility in India at Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (BLR). With this added capacity, a new Boeing 747-8 flight will now be able to further connect our customers in India with more international trade opportunities in Asia, Europe and the Americas. “Customers are at the core of our strategy and we’re on a mission to deliver what matters for them,” said Deepak Shrivastava, UPS Managing Director for Indian Subcontinent. This is UPS’s second dedicated airport gateway facility in India after opening its Delhi airport gateway in 2020 and another example of how UPS is empowering local businesses to grow, expand to new markets and compete globally. The Bengaluru facility will provide in-house customs clearance and serve as a cross-border trade link for southern India, giving customers an extended pick-up time of up to two hours, while strengthening supply chains for cross-border trade.

Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA) has confirmed its order for 20 Boeing 737 MAX-8s. The deal was sealed during a signing ceremony at the Farnborough Airshow, and will make ANA the first Boeing 737 MAX customer in Japan. The deal also includes options for 10 further 737 MAXs, and in addition, ANA converted two previous orders for the Boeing 777-9 passenger aircraft to the Boeing 777-8F cargo aircraft. As a result, ANA will become the first carrier in Asia to fly the Boeing 777-8F. President and CEO of ANA Holdings, Koji Shibata, recognized ANA’s long relationship with Boeing, reminiscing on 2012, when the airline was the launch customer of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The carrier now has a total of 61 aircraft on order from Boeing, including the Boeing 737 MAX, Boeing 787, and Boeing 777X aircraft.

According to Boeing’s 2022 Commercial Market Outlook (CMO) report, there will be continued robust demand for dedicated freighters to support global supply chains and growing express networks. “Carriers will need 2,800 additional freighters overall, including 940 new widebody models in addition to converted narrow-body and widebody freighters over the forecast period, “ the report stated. The insights are a part of Boeing’s2022 Commercial Market Outlook (CMO) report which showcases the company’s annual long-term forecast. The company also projected demand for more than 41,000 new airplanes through 2041, underscoring aviation industry resilience two years after the pandemic began. The CMO forecasts a market value of $7.2 trillion for new airplane deliveries, with the global fleet increasing by 80% through 2041 compared to 2019 pre-pandemic levels. In addition, Boeing Global Services forecasts $3.6 trillion in demand in its market segments over the same time period, including strong demand for maintenance and modifications such as converted freighters; digital solutions that increase efficiency and reduce cost; and effective training to enable the supply of pilots and technicians, says reports.

The first professional cargo hub airport in China began officially operating on Sunday morning when a Boeing 767-300 cargo jet took off from the Ezhou Huahu Airport in the Hubei Province in Central China. It is the first dedicated freight hub airport in Asia and the fourth worldwide, and it is situated in the city of Ezhou. The new airport, which has a 23,000 square metre cargo terminal, a freight transit centre that is more than 700,000 square metres, 124 parking spaces, and two runways, is anticipated to increase the efficiency of air freight transport and advance the nation’s opening up. Su Xiaoyan, senior head of the airport’s planning and development department, claimed that the way in which Ezhou Huahu Airport operates complies with China’s development requirements.