Category Archives: Aviation

Aircraft maker Boeing expects India’s air traffic to annually grow by nearly 7 per cent through 2040, and is bullish on the “massive potential” in the air cargo space. The company, which is a key player in both civil and defence aerospace segments, is also looking to increase the sourcing of raw materials from the country.Boeing Managing Director (Marketing) David Schulte stated that strong recovery is gaining further momentum in Indian aviation and it is one of the fastest growing markets.

The time is here for the Indian air cargo industry to tap the potential and make the best use of emerging trends such as digitalisation, rising e-commerce and perishables movement across India, especially in tier II and III cities and abroad to boost cargo activity and enhance performance said, CK Govil, VP, Air Cargo Agents’ Association of India (ACAAI). He said, ACAAI will focus on enhancing air cargo resiliency in the new normal scenario by adopting efficient growth strategies and focusing on resolving key issues such as logistics cost, congestion at ports, improving infrastructure and multimodal connectivity. “Though, the sector performed exceptionally well during the pandemic, there is a need to improve multimodal infrastructure and connectivity. We need more Air Freight Stations (AFSs).  Perishable movement should be encouraged, especially defence aircraft,” he said.  “In our forthcoming edition, we will be focusing on improving air cargo resilience. We have the government’s support, and they are taking steps for resolving key issues hindering the growth of the sector,” added Govil.

Cathay Pacific Cargo has added cargo capacity and has been in close talks with suppliers as it prepares for what is expected to be a muted peak season. The Hong Kong-based airline said it has been adding extra passenger flights, cargo-only capacity and has ramped-up freighter operations ahead of the peak. Frosti Lau, GM, Cargo Service Delivery, said, “We have already increased frequency to the US, and we are now operating daily to London Heathrow. “Our freighters are operating a full schedule, supported by cargo-only passenger operations focused on regional destinations. This extra capacity will help us as we prepare for a busy peak, although we are anticipating it may not be as pronounced as last year,” he added.

UPS is expanding and modernizing its freighter fleet with the addition of eight B767 freighters. UPS and Boeing announced the new orders for eight more Boeing B767F are due for delivery from 2025. “The order increases UPS’s B767F fleet to 108 aircraft and builds on the company’s order for 19 767Fs in December 2021,” said a company statement. An additional 767-300 Boeing Converted Freighter (BCF) will enter service in late 2023. The statement added, “The additional 767s will help us continue to deliver what matters to UPS customers around the world. This is a versatile aircraft that we operate across every region of the globe. With these aircraft, our fleet will continue to be among the most modern in our industry.”

With an aim to develop employees’ skillset, Qatar Airways Cargo has launched a Next Generation project, a new business approach that will focus on the next generation of air cargo executives, said an official release. The project includes digital enhancements, new products, and a new website. Guillaume Halleux, Chief Officer, Cargo in a statement, “The future is in every decision we take—technology, sustainability, diversity—the new generation of employees joining our company, our products, and services, and how we approach our business in general. “We are shaping the air cargo industry of tomorrow, one that combines digital efficiencies with a professional human touch. NextGen has a vision to develop employees’ talents, to fully utilize digital potential, and to take an innovative approach toward air cargo.”

A dashboard is being developed by Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry to help the logistics industry flag issues or give suggestions to the government on matters related to logistics services. The dashboard is expected to be launched for all authorised industry associations soon, an official statement read. To streamline inter-ministerial coordination of service-related issues in logistics, an institutional mechanism such as the Network Planning Group under PM Gati Shakti, is also under consideration, the ministry said. “Such endeavours are expected to give a boost to India’s logistics efficiency,” the statement added. The creation of a user-interactive dashboard will allow authorised user associations to log in and lodge issues or suggestions to the government to track and resolve them in a transparent manner. The user interaction dashboard is believed to be a part of initiatives being developed by the logistics division of the ministry to address the technology, services, and human resource-related aspects of logistics efficiency in India.

Finnair Cargo has partnered with WiseTech Global to make it simple for freight forwarders to select, reserve, confirm, and modify shipments in real time through the CargoWise platform of WiseTech Global, says release. Customers of CargoWise will now have immediate access to Finnair Cargo’s flight schedules, pricing, capacity, and inventory across 24 countries in Asia, Europe, and the US. “Finnair Freight employs digitalization to drastically increase transparency and effectiveness of air cargo shipping procedures,” said Fredrik Wildtgrube, senior vice president of Finnair Cargo. “The direct data exchange with CargoWise enables us to communicate real-time data across the whole lifetime, from booking to execution of the Air Waybill, giving our customers a smooth experience without having to leave the CargoWise site,” he added.

Lufthansa Cargo is all set to expand its intra-European route network following the arrival of a new Airbus A321P2F (Passenger-to-Freighter), scheduled for next October, said release. The second aircraft of this type will join the fleet of the German airline’s cargo division is currently in Singapore, undergoing conversion from its original passenger version to freighter one. It will be registered as D-AEUA. The aircraft will offer a range of around 3.500 kilometres with a payload capacity of up to 28 tonnes, distributed over fourteen container positions on the main deck and a further ten positions on the lower deck. The conversion will include the installation of a reinforced floor, a roller system to facilitate cargo movement and a large door in the fuselage for stowage and unstowage, the release added.

Yashpal Sharma, President, Air Cargo forum India (ACFI) said, “Upskilling existing workforce is one of the key concerns and with the upbeat projections of growth in the industry we would need to collectively work to empower our workforce with training to make them future ready.” He further added,  “I will make my best efforts to take ACFI into a higher orbit by engaging with all stakeholders and policymakers at local and international level. Over the next five years, I see ACFI collaborating with various industry bodies in India and overseas to position and contribute to carving out knowledge banks, process development and building a robust ecosystem for galvanizing the industry in the country.”

Cathay Pacific has extended its Fly Greener, a carbon-offset program, powered by an integrated carbon emissions calculator, to its air cargo services as part of its commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, stated a release. The new carbon emissions calculator works out the carbon emissions of shipments and the cost to offset them. Customers can then contribute to buy carbon offsets from selected carbon-offset projects. All selected projects are certified under the Gold Standard to ensure their carbon reductions are verified and come with societal and developmental benefits. “The program follows the launch earlier this year of Cathay Pacific’s SAF Program, which brings SAF into Hong Kong International Airport for the first time in history. It provides corporate customers the opportunity to reduce their carbon footprint from air cargo shipments by contributing to the use of SAF,” stated a release.