Category Archives: International

SpiceJet operated its first-ever long-haul cargo flight from Amsterdam to Mumbai using its wide-body Airbus A340 aircraft today. With this the airline has become the first Indian carrier to operate a non-stop cargo flight from Europe. The aircraft will operate from Mumbai to Khartoum in Sudan tomorrow. Adding Netherlands to its international cargo network, SpiceJet carried 13 tonnes of cargo supplies to Mumbai. Ajay Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, SpiceJet said, “The induction of our first Airbus A340 cargo aircraft has significantly enhanced our operational capability and will allow us to operate non-stop cargo services across the globe to destinations in Europe, Africa and CIS countries.” SpiceJet has operated over 5764 cargo flights and transported over 31800 tonnes of cargo – this is more than double of all domestic airlines combined together – carrying medicines and medical equipment and fruits and vegetables to all corners of India and the world since March 25, 2020. The airline operated the country’s first cargo-on-seat flight on April 7 carrying vital supplies in passenger cabin & belly space. Since then, the airline has been regularly deploying its B737 and Q400 passenger aircraft to carry cargo in the passenger cabin. SpiceJet’s international cargo network now spans over 42 international destinations that include Amsterdam, Rome, Almaty, Abu Dhabi, Baghdad, Bahrain, Bangkok, Bishkek, Cambodia, Cairo, Cebu, Chad, Colombo, Dhaka, Doha, Dubai, Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh, Hong Kong, Huangzhou, Incheon, Jakarta, Kabul, Kathmandu, Khartoum, Kyrgyzstan, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, Male, Myanmar, Shanghai, Singapore, Sharjah, Sulaymaniyah, Tashkent, Ukraine, among others. The airline has also been actively using Ras Al-Khaimah airport as a hub for its cargo operations.

FarEye has raised an additional US$ 13 million as an extension to its Series D investment led by The Fundamentum Partnership and KB Global Platform Fund. The investment will accelerate company’s global expansion to address the steepening digital curve for logistics transformation. The need is being further accelerated by enterprises and end consumers demanding a high level of transparency, faster and more convenient delivery experiences. There is also an increased need for flexible supply chains to meet these demands. “We are seeing a surge in the need for real-time visibility in logistics for businesses to build customer-centric supply chains. With recently raised funds, we will continue to invest in the best talent in the Americas, Europe, and APAC to support our hyper-growth in these regions. With a vision to make FarEye one of the most customer-centric organizations globally, we aim to make every delivery delightful for the consumers.” said Kushal Nahata, CEO, FarEye.

American Airlines has appointed Air Logistics Group as its Cargo General Sales Agent (GSA) for its operations in India. The new GSA representation will bring added benefits to American’s Cargo customers as the airline continues to expand its cargo capacity and frequency between the two nations. American Airlines Cargo has served the Indian market with a GSA for more than two decades. The United States and India are two of the world’s largest exporters and importers of goods and freight. “India is an important market for American’s cargo operations,” said Tim Isik, Director Cargo Sales – Europe, Middle East and Africa, in adding, “As we prepare to launch our new Seattle to Bengaluru service in 2021, we are delighted to be strengthening our position in India through this exclusive partnership with Air Logistics Group.”

DP World’s subsidiary Unifeeder announced the acquisition of Transworld Feeders FZCO, Avana Logistek, including its subsidiary Avana Global FZCO, and Transworld Feeders which is the containerised Indian coastal and EXIM feeder shipping operations of Shreyas Shipping and Logistics Limited, excluding vessels and bulk operations. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals. Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO, DP World, said, “We are delighted to announce these bolt-on acquisitions which give us complete coverage in fast-growing markets between East Africa, Gulf, and the wider Indian Subcontinent. These new activities are in line with our strategy and complement our recent acquisitions of Feedertech and Perma Shipping. We now have the capability to offer superior connectivity between Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, the Middle East, and East Africa, and this greater scale and comprehensive network presence will allow us to reduce inefficiencies in the supply chains to the benefit of all our customers. “Transworld Feeders and Avana are both strong and well-known brands that handle approximately 1.2mn TEU per annum and operate in fast-growing markets. Our Unifeeder ISC platform will continue to operate an asset-light, independent common-user platform, as we continue to build the Unifeeder brand, which is best known for efficient connectivity, flexibility, and reliability. Unifeeder now has full-scale capability to offer feedering and regional trade connectivity in Northern Europe, Mediterranean, Northern Africa, Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and Asia,” he adds.

After returning to all-cargo operations in March, American Airlines will fly more than 1,000 cargo-only flights to 32 destinations across the US, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia in September. The airline re-launched cargo-only flights in March, with 20 strategic flights to two key destinations. Since being reintroduced, American’s cargo-only flights, which hadn’t been operated in more than 35 years, have moved more than 45 million pounds of cargo around the world.” “We didn’t have a playbook. We’d never done this before,” said Maulin Vakil, American’s director of cargo revenue at the time. “We began to explore how much cargo we could take if we couldn’t transport passengers.” After exploring options, the group began planning a cargo-only flight from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) to Frankfurt (FRA) scheduled to take off on March 20. The airline expanded its cargo-only flights to Hong Kong (HKG), Shanghai (PVG), Beijing (PEK) and Seoul (ICN). “We essentially started our own little airline,” said Tom Howard, Manager at American’s integrated operations center. “We had to build this entire out and coordinate how it flows with our scheduled passenger service because, well, we’re a passenger airline.” This September, more than 1,000 scheduled cargo-only flights will be accompanied by more than 1,200 passenger flights also offering cargo services.

SpiceJet has announced that the airline is set to induct its first wide-body Airbus A340 cargo aircraft which would primarily be used for transporting cargo goods and essential supplies on long-haul routes including to destinations in Europe, CIS and Africa. The aircraft can carry 35 tonnes of cargo per flight. With the latest induction, SpiceJet will have a dedicated fleet of nine freighter aircraft consisting of five Boeing 737s, three Bombardier Q-400s and one Airbus A340. Ajay Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, SpiceJet, said, “Very soon, an Indian carrier will be proudly operating non-stop cargo services across the globe to destinations in Europe, Africa and CIS countries which till a few months back would have been unthinkable. We are confident that our long-haul cargo flights would further help boost Indian businesses, farmers, pharma companies providing them seamless access to newer markets.”

LATAM Cargo has launched a weekly service from Miami, US, to Florianopolis using a Boeing 767F aircraft with a 53-tonne capacity. Brazilian exports carried on the route include automotive, metallurgical, food, pharmaceutical and electronic products, among others. The route connects North America with Southern Brazil, as well as offering wider connections to Europe and Asia. Gabriel Oliva, Commercial Vice President — North America, Europe and Asia, LATAM Cargo, says, “This new route will allow us to provide a direct, stable and permanent service between the US and Santa Catarina. As strategic partners, we are constantly evaluating routes that promote international trade, bringing buyers and sellers together with the characteristic speed, attention and logistics excellence of our global services network.” “We will continue to be focused on offering more origins-destinations for our international and domestic markets in order to be present in our clients’ relevant markets,” adds Kamal Hadad, Vice President of Alliances and Network, LATAM Cargo, Before the Miami-Florianopolis route was implemented, international cargo entered Brazil through Guarulhos and Viracopos. Hence, it depended on complementary ground transportation in order to reach its final destination.

CSP Abu Dhabi has announced the start of a direct, weekly service to several ports across Europe and the Indian Subcontinent. The new direct service will be served by a fleet of eight vessels on rotation, ranging in capacity between 10,000 to 13,000 TEU. Direct exports from Abu Dhabi to the ports of Rotterdam, Hamburg, London, Antwerp, and Le Havre, will consist primarily of polymers while returning vessels will carry a mix of general and project cargo imports. The ports of Karachi, Nhava Sheva, and Mundra will also benefit from the new service. Naser Al Busaeedi, Deputy CEO, CSP Abu Dhabi Terminal, said, “Our new services will significantly increase the movement of cargo exports and imports between Abu Dhabi, Europe and India, providing our customers with solutions to tackle their international shipment needs, as well as the opportunity to target new markets.” Mohamed Eidha Tannaf Al Menhali, Acting Director, Khalifa Port, said, “This new dedicated service marks an important strategic step in Abu Dhabi Ports’ vision to transform Khalifa Port’s end-to-end logistics capability.”

In order to develop global guidance for the air cargo industry of optimal transportation of the COVID-19 vaccine, The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) partnered with Pharma.Aero, once the vaccine is developed. The guidance will be developed gradually in four work packages through a joint working group to ensure feedback from all stakeholders in the supply chain of air cargo and pharmaceuticals. The aim of this program is to provide the air cargo industry with more clarity of the demands, expectations and quality supply chain requirements, including but not restricted to critical trade lanes, air cargo capacity, handling and storage, track and trace requirements, for the transportation of the vaccines. At the same time, shippers will gain more understanding about the capabilities of the various logistics players. This will ensure that once the vaccine is available in the market, the air cargo industry will be ready to respond to the needs of the shippers and transport vaccines in optimal conditions to all corners of the globe.

DB Schenker has started operations at the Red Lion warehouse in Singapore, a regional hub for automated high-speed logistics. The warehouse worth is 101 million euros and is the single largest investment in any site globally in Schenker’s corporate history. Strategically located in the Airport Logistics Park of Singapore (ALPS) at Changi Airport, the site sets a new standard in combining the world’s most advanced technological developments with the highest levels of sustainable warehouse management for its customers. Jochen Thewes, Chief Executive Officer DB Schenker, says, “Our new logistics hub makes us even faster and more reliable for our customers. The record investment in Red Lion marks an unparalleled milestone for our corporate history of almost 150 years. We are happy and proud to reinforce our commitment to Singapore as the heart of our logistics operations in Asia.” Red Lion solidifies Schenker’s position in Singapore as the largest and most advanced third-party logistics provider in the ALPS. Combined, the mechanized air freight hub and contract logistics warehouse extend over 51,400 square meters on five floors, equal to the size of seven soccer fields. A next generation Warehouse Management System and a synchronized IT platform bridging the various automations enable Red Lion to increase warehouse productivity by up to 100% compared to manual processes, and to reduce lead time for customers by 40% compared to non-integrated facilities.