Category Archives: Aviation

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for February 2023 global air cargo markets showing that air cargo demand rose above pre-pandemic levels. Global demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs*), fell 7.5% compared to February 2022 (-8.3% for international operations). This was half the rate of annual decline seen in the previous two months (-14.9% and -15.3% respectively). February demand for air cargo was 2.9% higher than pre-pandemic levels (February 2019)—the first time it has surpassed pre-pandemic levels in eight months. Capacity (measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers, ACTK) was up 8.6% compared to February 2022. The strong uptick in ACTKs reflects the addition of belly capacity as the passenger side of the business continues to recover. International belly-capacity grew by 57.0% in February year-over-year, reaching 75.1% of the 2019 (pre-pandemic) capacity. Several factors in the operating environment should be noted: The global new export orders component of the manufacturing PMI, a leading indicator of cargo demand, continued to increase in February. China’s PMI level surpassed the critical 50-mark indicating that demand for manufactured goods from the world’s largest export economy is growing. Global goods trade decreased by 1.5% in January; this was a slower rate of decline than the previous month of -3.3%. The Consumer Price Index for G7 countries decreased from 6.7% in January to 6.4% in February. Inflation in producer (input) prices reduced by 2.2 percentage points to 9.6% in December (last available data). ”The story of air cargo in February is one of slowing declines. Year-on-year demand fell by 7.5%. That’s half the rate of decline experienced in January. This shifting of gears was sufficient to boost the overall industry into positive territory (+2.9%) compared to …

Airbus has produced the first parts that will make up what it calls “the world’s most efficient large freighter aircraft” – the Airbus A350F. The parts were made at Airbus Atlantic in Nantes, and will soon be transferred to the manufacturer’s other site at Montoir-de-Bretagne, where they will begin to be pieced together, says reports. Airbus A350F is due to enter service in 2025. The parts that Airbus has produced so far will belong to the aircraft’s center wing box. The fittings that will connect the center wing box to the outer wing boxes have also been made, as have the external foot frames that will link the center wing box to the lateral fuselage shells. When complete, the center wing box will measure 6.5 m long x 5.5 m wide x 3.9 m tall. Airbus is, of course, no stranger to making center wing boxes – the parts are similar to those found on the passenger Airbus A350, but feature reinforced floor beams to support the heaviest pallets and containers. Airbus Atlantic has modified its production line at its Nantes factory to offer simultaneous production of the parts needed for both passenger and freighter models of the Airbus A350.

Celebi Ground Services Chennai Pvt. Ltd signed the Concession Agreement with Airport Authority of India (AAI) for provision of Ground Services at Chennai International Airport. Dr. Sharad Kumar – Airport Director – Chennai Airport and Murali Ramachandran – CEO Celebi India chaired the signing ceremony. Airlines operating to Chennai will now have the option of partnering with a professional and globally recognized Ground Handler which will aid in significantly increasing operational efficiency, providing quality service delivery with a safety-first motto and a strong customer centric approach. We are now gearing up to start services within the next few weeks.

SATS Ltd. (“SATS”) today announced it has completed its acquisition of global air cargo logistics provider Worldwide Flight Services (“WFS”) for €1.3 billion (equivalent to approximately S$1.8 billion) from an affiliate of Cerberus Capital Management (“Cerberus”), representing an enterprise value of €2,250 million as previously announced. The acquisition received an overwhelming support of 96.8% approval from SATS’ voting shareholders in January this year and obtained regulatory approvals in all relevant jurisdictions in February. With effect from completion, WFS becomes a fully owned subsidiary of SATS, which is headquartered in Singapore. WFS will continue to be headquartered in Paris and operate as Worldwide Flight Services. Craig Smyth, CEO of WFS, will continue to run the company and report to Kerry Mok, President & Chief Executive Officer of SATS, and an advisory board. Both SATS and WFS have a long history and deep knowledge of the aviation industry. SATS is a leading provider of food solutions and gateway services in Asia, while WFS is a leading air cargo logistics provider globally with ground handling capabilities. As a combined company, SATS and WFS create an Americas-Europe-APAC network with a global footprint of 201 cargo and ground handling stations in 23 countries, covering trade routes responsible for more than 50% of global air cargo volume. The combined group operates in five of the top 10 cargo airports in North America and Europe respectively, including Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Frankfurt, and Paris, and four of the top 10 cargo airports in Asia, including Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, and Beijing. Mok said, “Recent global events have highlighted the importance of supply chain resiliency and an interconnected global network of cargo handling capabilities that provides speed, traceability, …

Cathay Pacific Group has announced the release of its 2022 Sustainable Development Report, which underscores the Group’s ongoing commitments and progress in achieving its sustainability goals. Titled “Greener Together,” the report reflects Cathay Pacific’s belief that driving progress towards a sustainable future requires strong partnerships and collective action. Chief Executive Officer Ronald Lam stated: “As we enter an exciting new phase of rebuilding Cathay Pacific for Hong Kong, one of our key development areas is becoming a leader in sustainability. This means working together with many different stakeholders, partners and corporate customers to reconnect Hong Kong to the world in sustainable ways. The title of this year’s report, ‘Greener Together’, reflects our determination to foster stronger partnerships to help drive the sustainable development agenda and build a more sustainable future for our customers, our people and our communities. “Despite the very difficult start we had to the year, 2022 saw a number of important milestones achieved in our sustainability journey. These involved yet more important steps towards developing the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) supply chain, reducing single-use plastics in our operations and continuing to advance the agenda of wellness and diversity for our people. Moving people forward is our business and as we look ahead to the future, we are excited to continue contributing to important projects and being a positive driving force towards making aviation more sustainable.”

The Indian Institute of Freight Forwarders (IIFF), the training arm of the Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations of India (FFFAI) has announced a major initiative to help upskill the employees of its member companies across India, as well as to skill and onboard prospective employees for the industry. FFFAI has partnered with 21CC Education to develop and host e-learning modules that will explain the fundamentals of logistics and transportation, as well as the many tasks freight forwarders perform as the linchpins in the industry. 21CC Education is driven by the mission to make learning fast, fun, gamified, and to the point with “Learn anywhere, anytime” being their motto. The transportation and logistics industry in India has been witnessing constant growth at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 5% between 2019 to 2021. This growth is leading to a very strong demand for new employees to enter the industry. Additionally, factors like growing digitization, changing consumer preferences, and the expansion of e-commerce, as well as enabling government policies like the National Asset Monetization Pipeline and PM Gati Shakti Yojana are steering the transformation, modernization, and development of the logistics industry in India. As the guardian of the broader interests of the freight forwarding community in India, the FFFAI plays a critical role in ensuring the long-term health of the industry through a robust skilling and upskilling program. Mr Shankar Shinde, Chairman of FFFAI and Managing Director of Global Express Multilogistics Pvt. Ltd., said: “The transportation and logistics industry is a great industry in which to make a career. The diversity of work is only increasing year upon year, with ample opportunities in India and abroad. In order to make sure …

Air France KLM Martinair Cargo (AFKLMP) and CMA CGM Air Cargo have launched a capacity partnership announced last year. The tie-up, first announced in May 2022, will see the two carriers jointly operate the full-freighter aircraft capacity of their respective airlines, initially including CMA CGM’s six freighter aircraft and AFKLMP’s six freighters. The commercial partnership also covers Air France-KLM’s belly aircraft capacity, including more than 160 long-haul aircraft. The partnership has an initial duration of 10 years. The two partners said the combined offering will allow them to benefit from greater freighter and belly capacity, a more extensive network of destinations, a mix of scheduled and charter flights, and improved transit times and flexibility, as well as tailored connections. CMA CGM’s flights are available to be booked on AFKLMP’s myCargo platform and customers can book and combine flights operated by both carriers. Air France KLM Group executive vice president cargo and cooperation lead Adriaan Den Heijer said: “We are very pleased with the operational implementation of our strategic long-term air cargo partnership with CMA CGM Air Cargo. “It will accelerate the expansion of our cargo business, a strategic activity for the Air France-KLM Group, by opening up a wide range of new opportunities, in terms of offerings, destinations and solutions to our customers. “With our experienced and dedicated teams and a powerful distribution platform, we look forward to further transforming the future through this partnership.” Guillaume Lathelize, chief executive of CMA CGM Air Cargo, added: “Our commercial joint-venture with Air France KLM Martinair is now effective. CMA CGM Air Cargo is France’s leading full-freighter airline, and operates six aircraft. “The company has demonstrated its flexibility and agility with scheduled services …

Air cargo veteran Shankar Iyer has been appointed as Head of Sales and Handling in South Asia at Lufthansa Cargo. Shankar is a native Indian and started working at the Cargo Division for Swissair in Mumbai. Over the years, he has held various leadership positions and gained a vast portfolio of knowledge and expertise in the airfreight business. The regions he has been responsible for include India, Africa, the Middle East and also Israel.

In a bid to boost the growth of its cargo business and provide a more streamlined and efficient service to its customers, SpiceJet Ltd. has completed the hive off of its cargo and logistics division ‘SpiceXpress’ into a separate entity, SpiceXpress and Logistics Private Limited. The hive off is effective April 1, 2023 and paves the way for SpiceXpress to raise funds independently. The hive off would strengthen SpiceJet’s balance sheet, wipe out a substantial portion of the Company’s negative net worth and unlock significant value for the Company and its shareholders. The consideration for the slump sale shall be discharged by SpiceXpress by issuance of securities in the combination of equity shares and compulsorily convertible debentures to SpiceJet for an aggregate amount of Rs. 2,555.77 Crore which will also strengthen the balance sheet of SpiceJet. Ajay Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, SpiceJet, said, “The separation of our cargo and logistics arm is a stepping stone in our growth story which shall unfold in the times to come.” “SpiceXpress will provide greater and differentiated focus to cargo and logistics business and will allow the possibility of raising capital for the business to accelerate its growth. The decision to hive off SpiceXpress is in sync with our long term business plan and will unlock significant valuation of the logistic business. Both SpiceJet and SpiceXpress have great potential and will complement each other well.” “The hive off will not only enable SpiceXpress to raise cash independently, it will significantly reduce SpiceJet’s negative net worth. Having restructured over $100 million, outstanding dues to Carlyle Aviation Partner last month, the hive off will further strengthen and deleverage our balance sheet.” During the pandemic, SpiceXpress …

Vahak has announced a collaboration with SecureNow, a leading tech-enabled insurance platform for businesses, to offer cargo insurance to the Indian trucking community. Vahak, co-founded by IITians Karan Shaha and Vikas Chandrawat, is on a mission to digitise the Indian logistics sector, which contributes over 14% to India’s GDP. This logistics tech company is fostering India’s largest ecosystem of transport SMEs, shippers, and lorry/fleet owners on its website and app, amid the fast-growing $250 Billion logistics sector in the country. Karan Shaha, Co-Founder, and CEO at Vahak, said, “Our vision is to build a trusted transport community platform that addresses the needs of transporters, fleet owners, and truckers for growth. While the Indian trucking business remains fragmented and unorganised, and largely not covered under social security benefits, we want to bring peace of mind to the demand and supply sides, helping them mitigate the financial risks associated with transporting goods.” Discussing the need of the hour, Shaha elaborates, “India transports nearly 4.6 billion tonnes of freight annually, generating transport demand of 2.2 trillion tonne-km, as per NITI Ayog. As this demand grows, associated road freight movement is likely to increase to 9.6 trillion tonne-km by 2050. And as road freight travel grows, the number of trucks is likely to more than quadruple, to roughly 17 million trucks by 2050. And, so will the urgent need to safeguard the transported cargo.” Cargo insurance can protect trucking companies and shippers against losses due to theft, accidents, natural disasters, and other unexpected events that can cause damage or loss of cargo. This can help mitigate the financial impact of these losses and provide peace of mind to both parties. Many shippers and manufacturers …