Activair Airfreight India has proudly handled the shipment of much awaited international title – Prince Harry – the memoir of British Royal Monarch from the time it was delivered in the UK to be delivered to the customer in India. Abhiyank Govil, Business Development – Director at Activair Airfreight India said, “The international release of the same was 10th January and it had to be dispatched to every nook and corner in India for retail sale from 10th January onwards for which coordination and communication was key. Activair Airfreight India feels privileged to have been given this opportunity of being part of this international release by the customer – Penguin Random House India. The entire handling of this movement was done under top secrecy to prevent leaks. There is huge potential in the country to grow from where it stands especially due to the slowdown in China. Technology and reduction of human intervention will play an essential part in the development of Air Cargo in India along with new aircraft deliveries to airlines will help ease traffic on busy routes due to the growth in domestic sector owing to Atma Nirbhar Bharat . Freight forwarders must constantly equip themselves to meet the ever growing demand of customers and help further scale up the economy as a whole.”

Vietnamese airline Bamboo Airways has launched cargo carrier Bamboo Airways Cargo JSC (BAC). The company said in a press release, “This is the airline’s latest movement in the overall strategy to build an aviation ecosystem, develop Bamboo Airways’ member companies, and create more favorable conditions for the airline to thrive in the coming time.” However, the launch comes at a difficult time for the air cargo market, which faces reduced demand for the first time since the pandemic started, against increased capacity. The change in market conditions led Vietnam’s IPP Air Cargo to abandon its launch plans, apparently due to concerns about weakening demand for air cargo and an uncertain economic outlook. AIA Cargo is the cargo GSSA for Bamboo in the UK and Germany and plays a major role in filling its Europe-Vietnam B787 capacities. In June last year, Bamboo Airways selected GSSA ECS Group’s Globe Air Cargo to develop its air cargo operations in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Bamboo said it currently operates a domestic network to 21 out of 22 airports in Vietnam while it expands its international presence to continental gateways in regions including Asia, Australia and Europe. The airline said it has been focusing on growing its inter-regional and inter-continental routes network. Bamboo has appointed Doan Huu Doan, executive vice chairman and executive deputy general director of Bamboo Airways, as chairman of BAC; Nguyen Khac Hai, deputy general director of Bamboo Airways, as chief executive of BAC; and Dang Van Vien as managing director of BAC. Pham Dang Thanh has also been elected to deputy general director of Bamboo Airways.

Kuehne + Nagel (K+N) has completed its first engine shipment using its Boeing 747-8F aircraft. The team in Chicago transported a nine-tonne Rolls Royce aircraft engine onto its B747-8F aircraft – named Inspire – from Chicago to Hong Kong. According to K+N, it took four people, three pieces of machinery and one hour to load the engine into its aircraft. The aircraft has been put into operation as part of the long-term charter agreement with Atlas Air, which sees K+N chartering the entire capacity of two B747-8Fs. The two B747s are the last of the famous jumbo jets that will be built by Boeing. K+N said the aircraft would be utilised on transpacific services and also linked to its intra-Asia network to provide better connectivity in the growing Asia Pacific region. In addition to expanding its airfreight offering, 2022 was a busy year for the forwarder’s project logistics team, which was involved in delivering wind turbine components for the pilot phase of Chile’s Haru Oni project – an integrated hydrogen plant producing synthetic fuel from wind and water.

DHL Global Forwarding’s December 2022 ‘Airfreight State of the Industry’ report indicated a fraught operating landscape but the outlook isn’t entirely gloomy. Following November’s low volumes, demand continued to remain reduced on most trade lanes and is likely to continue into 2023, said the report. DHL said that e-commerce shipments only added “negligible growth” to global volumes at the end of the year. The company stated that “any expected volume increase is likely to occur ex-Asia Pacific prior to Lunar New Year”. Reduced ocean freight rates are seeing shippers turn from air to sea shipments, it added. Additionally, rates worldwide are below their level against last year despite the effects of higher fuel prices. Although, recent analysis released by CLIVE Data Services indicates that while the spot rate dropped, average rates for December remained 75% above the pre-Covid level. The report did note that while inflation will continue into 2023 it is likely to decrease. Global inflation began climbing as economic pressures started to bite last year, but the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the inflation rate is set to drop. “Global inflation is forecasted by IMF to decline to 6.5% in 2023 and to 4% by 2024,” said DHL. In the first quarter of 2023, DHL expects to see low but stable demand, with high inventories and low sales. “Demand [is likely] to increase only as countries start recovering from high inflation,” said the report. Increased belly and freighter capacity does mean that overall, capacity is sufficient to support current demand levels.

National Air Cargo is opening business avenues for oversize cargo with the addition of its first freighter and is in discussions with Airbus about renting the ultra large Beluga transporter that can carry tanks, yachts, satellites and electric transformers. Orlando, Florida-based subsidiary National Airlines next month will began utilizing two factory-built Boeing 747-400 cargo jets, increasing the carrier’s fleet to 10 aircraft – including two for passenger charter. The newly purchased assets have a nose cone that flips open for ramp-loading of long, bulky items such as helicopters and trucks that can’t fit through a traditional side cargo door. The six other 747-400s in National’s fleet do not have nose-loading capability, said reports. Meanwhile, the logistics side of the company is exploring options for chartering the Beluga mega-freighter that Airbus recently made available to companies with special shipping requirements, said an official in the reports.

Mirae Asset Credit Opportunities Fund has announced acquisition of a Mumbai-based industrial logistics and warehousing asset for Rs 130 crore, marking first such deal under its India-focused foreign institutional funds allocated for high-grade Indian real estate opportunities. Mirae Asset Credit Opportunities Fund, a category II AIF has made its maiden acquisition of a logistics facility, a pre-leased Grade A industrial asset at Bhiwandi, MMR, spread over a 10-acre land in Bhiwandi near Mumbai, the company said in a statement. The industrial property, housed in the 160-acre K-Square Integrated Industrial Park, has been acquired from Prakhhyat Group, it added. “We are also exploring opportunities at office acquisition deals including IT parks, corporate offices besides logistics & industrial space. We continue to be bullish on Indian economy and the real estate sector in India,” said Jun Young Hong, director, Mirae Asset Investment Managers (India) Pvt. Ltd. Mirae Asset Management also operates lending and mutual fund businesses. With a total leasable area of over 3 lakh sq ft, the acquired asset has been rented out to Rhenus Logistics, a global logistics services provider headquartered in Germany with operations across Europe, Asia, and South America.

“The sudden closure of International Air Cargo Terminals as well as Common User Domestic Cargo Terminals by the order of BCAS on Dec 30th 2022 came as a big surprise to the Shippers/Consignees/Agents who suffered huge avoidable losses. No time or advance notice was given to them to look for the alternative, neither by the Service Providers nor by the Regulatory body. Taking a deep dive into the root cause looking for immediate solution, I presume the Terminal Operators and the Airlines are not able to apply or get the RA status owing to the acute shortage of trained X-Ray Screeners in the market as well as the X-ray machines and the unviable economics of providing both. Although the regulatory requirements, protecting all security aspects, need to be in place, yet these could be made little flexible to allow the stakeholders pool their resources or outsource to a third party at all locations, especially smaller Airports, in the best interest of all concerned stakeholders. Whether it was a lapse on part of the Terminal Operators or Airlines or Authorities, all the stakeholders need to be sensitized to empathize with the business community to avoid such colossal losses to them,” says Sushant Nigam, ED, ACAAI.

Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has accepted the request of AAICLAS, MIHAN Nagpur, SACT CSMI Airport, Mumbai, KSIEL Calicut to extend the time frame up to March 31st, 2023 for the process of converting of CUDCT to RA facilities at airports, where RA approved but not operationalized due to shortage of screeners as well as where security vetting has been conducted by the standard committee. Previously, CUDCT facilities of AAICLAS at Jammu, Pune, Imphal, Coimbatore, Madurai, Raipur, Bhubaneswar, Visakhapatnam, Aurangabad, Vijayawada airports and AIASL Chennai airport where no substantive progress was observed were discontinued from Jan 1, 2023. In case of non-conversion to RA within the stipulated time all such CUDCT facilities shall be discontinued.

The Vijayawada division of the South Central Railway (SCR) has been awarded the first-ever contract through e-tendering for developing the new Gati Shakti Cargo Terminal (GCT), on railway land, at Bikkavolu. M/s. Grasim Industries Limited will take up construction of GCT, estimated at a cost of Rs.₹15.24 crore. The Railways shall retain a revenue share of 15% in Terminal Charges and Terminal Access Charges for a period of 35 years after completion of the cargo terminal, said Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Shivendra Mohan, said reports. “The anticipated traffic projections are more than 100 rakes both inward and outwards per annum from the new cargo handling plant. This move shall ensure development of additional terminals for handling the rail cargo and generate extra revenue for the division, the reports added. According to the reports, the firm will begin construction of Gati-Shakti Cargo Terminal within 18 months after receiving the grant of approval of construction from the headquarters.

Canadian freight forwarder FFAF Cargo is expanding in Asia following the launch of a subsidiary in India in the last quarter of 2022. FFAF Logistics India has been launched as India continues to develop in diverse industries, said FFAF Cargo, a subsidiary of Flying Fresh Air Freight. Karthi Baskar has been appointed managing director and a head office has been opened in Bangalore, as well as regional offices in Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi. The company also plans to set up offices in Hyderabad, Pune & Ahmedabad in the second quarter of the next financial year. FFAF Cargo said services in the Indian market consist of airfreight, ocean freight, surface logistics, warehousing, project handling and customs brokerage service with control tower support. Industry focuses will include perishable & cold chain solutions, aerospace, automotive, pharmaceutical, retail, electronics, high technology and manufacturing. Brendan Harnett, group chairman, said, “This is part of our global expansion and supporting our customer outreach to the Asia region. Our newest venture in India reflects our long-term vision of being integral to our client’s logistics solution through innovation and exceptional customer service.” Nelson Coe, executive chairman of FFAF Logistics India and chief executive of FFAF Cargo US, explained that the establishment of the subsidiary is expected to help accelerate the company’s expansion of India to Canada & America’s trade lane developments. “Our strong success is in air freight products globally,” said Coe. “Our plan for India would be to have a strong presence with lean management, cost optimization and leading the sustainability initiatives. We like to express our sincere appreciation to all our customers who have been part of our global journey and request their support for us in …