Continental Carriers Pvt Ltd won the Best Innovation for Greenfield AFS award at the recently held India Cargo Awards 2023, in New Delhi on July 24. Known as the “Oscars of the Cargo Industry,” the India Cargo Awards ceremony was hosted by Cargo Talk, serving 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, 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.

Boeing reported an 18 percent increase in second quarter revenue at $19.8 billion and net loss of $149 million compared to a profit of $160 million in Q22022. “Second quarter results reflect higher commercial volume and lower defence margins. Boeing generated operating cash flow of $2.9 billion and free cash flow of $2.6 billion,” says an official release. Dave Calhoun, President and Chief Executive Officer, Boeing says: “We had a solid second quarter with improved deliveries and strong free cash flow generation. We are well positioned to meet the operational and financial goals we set for this year and for the long term. While we have more work ahead, we are making progress in our recovery and driving stability in our factories and the supply chain to meet our customer commitments. With demand strong, we’re steadily increasing our production rates across key programs and growing investments in our people, products and technologies.”

Jaipur Airport has commenced domestic cargo operations. IndiGo Cargo has already been onboarded and many other airlines will too start operations for their domestic cargo business from the newly built cargo terminal. The facility has capacity of 2300 metric tonnes per month. Chief Airport Officer Vishnu Mohan Jha , Chief Cargo Officer Manoj Singh along with Mahesh Malik- Chief Commercial Officer, S Hari – VP Cargo inaugurated the new cargo unit at Terminal 1. Cargo operations went live at 00:00 hours August 1. After the pooja ceremony, all stakeholders including CISF, Airlines staff participated in cake and ribbon cutting ceremony. “The new cargo terminal is equipped with state of the art infra and facilities. We want to involve trade stakeholders and encourage them to begin cargo ops from this cargo facility,” said spokesperson in reports.

TVS Industrial & Logistics Parks (TVS ILP), part of TVS Mobility Group, has strengthened its partnership with NIIF Infrastructure Finance Limited (NIIF IFL), bringing the total amount of facilities obtained to nearly USD 100 million. Both institutions are well-known for their ESG (environmental, social, and governance) focuses and their commitment to sustainable development. The continued partnership exemplifies the shared determination to drive sustainable infrastructure development, thereby fostering long-term economic growth in the warehouse and industrial park sector. Capitalizing on this partnership, TVS ILP aims to accelerate its growth trajectory, with plans to double its portfolio to 20 million sq ft in the coming years with an investment of approximately USD 400 million.

The newly built integrated cargo complex at Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport at Chandigarh has finally become operational. Spread across total area of 2,400 square metres, the air freight facility comprises five sheds, set up at a cost of ₹12.45 crore, says reports. The construction of the new facility began in 2021. “While the complex is designed to handle both domestic and international cargo, including perishable items, for now, it will handle domestic cargo only, as customs clearance is awaited, for international cargo,” said Rakesh Ranjan, CEO, Chandigarh International Airport Limited, in reports. Now, Chandigarh airport is the only airport in northern India, after Delhi, with a cargo facility capable of handling 2,500 MT of cargo, he added.

QAC has launched optimized, real-time pricing powered by PROS Smart Price Optimization and Management on all online booking channels across its network. The real-time pricing engine provides Qatar Cargo customers an enhanced digital buying experience that allows immediate online booking confirmation with accurate, personalised pricing. Part of The Next Generation initiative, Qatar’s Digital Lounge places an emphasis on user experience and ease of use, allowing customers to price and book cargo shipments without the need to call or email the sales team directly. With PROS Smart Price Optimization and Management solutions, Qatar Airways Cargo powers its online channels with real-time personalised dynamic pricing, accessing live capacity to offer accurate and bookable rates. The AI-powered optimisation solution models improve win rates by personalising the price offering and maximising sales.

Samvid Gupta, Joint Managing Director, Gateway Distriparks was felicitated with Youngest Business Leader of the year award the recently held India Cargo Awards 2023, held in New Delhi on July 24. Known as the “Oscars of the Cargo Industry,” the India Cargo Awards ceremony was hosted by Cargo Talk, serving 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, 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.

Amerijet International has selected Quantum-South to provide aircraft load optimisation technology to ensure aircraft are fully utilised. Quantum-South’s solution helps to optimize container placement to maximise transported weight, volume, priority mix, or revenue mix, with a focus on Center of Gravity (CoG) optimisation. Another module selects shipments for each flight to optimize the booked priority, with container assignment and instructions on how to build the container, such as the location and order of placement for each piece in the shipment. During a proof of concept project, Quantum-South said that it examined data from 451 flights and identified loading alternatives that increased payload by up to 30% and volume by up to 76%. Amerijet International chief commercial officer Eric Wilson said, “This substantial enhancement in cargo load factor can greatly enhance revenue per flight and increase opportunities for customers through more efficient use of capacity.” He added, “Optimising flight load plans and augmenting process efficiency helps us provide the best capacity offering to our customers while maximizing the load of every flight.” Quantum-South co-founder & president Rafael Sotelo added: “We are excited to continue working with Amerijet International and uncover more optimisation opportunities to further enhance operations.” Miami-based Amerijet currently operates a fleet of 23 aircraft – 17 B767Fs and six B757s.

A shift in consumer spending and higher prices led to air cargo demand decline amongst Asia Pacific airlines in June. Preliminary June 2023 traffic figures released by the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) found air cargo demand, as measured in freight tonne kilometres (FTK), declined by 8.1% year on year. Capacity rose by 0.7%, leading to a 5.9 percentage point fall in the average international freight load factor to 60.7% for the month. Meanwhile, global trade activity was muted with the ongoing declines in new export orders, said the AAPA. The easing in container shipping rates relative to air freight rates further discouraged demand for air shipments. Subhas Menon, AAPA director general said, “In the first half of the year, the number of international passengers carried by Asian airlines quadrupled to a combined total of 120 million, boosted by the upsurge in leisure and business travel demand, as the region’s economies emerge strongly from the pandemic.” “During the same period, the region’s carriers posted a 10% decline in air cargo demand. A myriad of factors, including a post-pandemic shift in spending from goods to services and higher merchandise prices, weighed on global air cargo markets.”

Hawaiian Airlines has received the first of 10 freighters that it will operate for e-commerce giant Amazon. The airline’s president and chief executive, Peter Ingram said, the A330-300 converted aircraft is situated at its headquarters in Honolulu and is due to start operating in October. “Earlier this month, the first A330-300 freighter that we will operate for Amazon arrived in Honolulu,” said Ingram. “Over the next few months, we’ll use the aircraft for employee familiarization work. “This is the first of 10 freighter aircraft we will be inducting over the course of the next 1.5 years providing us a new and diversified stream of revenue that will begin to ramp more materially in 2024.”