Category Archives: Aviation

IAG Cargo will be charging extra for using paper air waybills (AWB) as part of its push to become digital first. Customers who choose paper AWB when booking cargo shipments will be charged a £10 cost beginning on April 3rd, whilst converting to electronic air waybill (eAWB) is free, said release. For many years, the air cargo sector depended on paper methods to establish carriage contracts between freight forwarders and airlines. This amounts to about 7,800 tonnes of paper documents handled every year, which is the equivalent of 80 Boeing 747s full of paper. The eAWB not only provides a more sustainable option, but it also provides its consumers with a smooth end-to-end solution that removes the possibility of human mistake. David Rose, Chief Transformation Officer, IAG Cargo said, “We are looking to lead the way with our customers worldwide when it comes to delivering a customer proposition that has quality and sustainability at its core. Our commitment to eAWB will see IAG Cargo significantly reducing paper usage through the cargo journey as we move to eAWB usage across our network. eAWB is the first step of many steps in our ambitious destination digital journey, and we are excited to use the data provided to roll out future digital initiatives that will see us become more sustainable and reliable.” eAWB has been introduced as part of IAG Cargo’s ‘Destination Digital’ strategy to transform the business digitally. With nearly 50% of customers already using eAWB, IAG Cargo is targeting an adoption rate of 100% by the end of 2023.

CEVA Logistics is transitioning all its contract logistics and freight services to low-carbon electricity by 2025. “The commitment will rely on a combination of purchasing low-carbon electricity (renewable and nuclear) from local utility providers and increasing its own production of electricity using rooftop solar panels, which the company will triple by the end of 2025,” said an official release. “In addition, CEVA expects to reach 100 percent LED lighting in its warehousing facilities by the end of 2023.” CEVA finished 2022 with LED lighting in approximately 80 percent of its contract logistics warehouses, the release said. CEVA is also increasing the size of its lithium-ion material handling equipment (MHE) fleet. “The global logistics provider expects its global fleet to reach a 40 percent level in 2023 of eco-MHE (lithium-ion and gel battery units). Beyond the obvious emissions savings in moving away from diesel- or LPG-powered combustion MHE, the company is also seeing an average 16 percent emissions reduction during the charging process when switching from a lead-acid battery MHE to more eco-friendly lithium-ion batteries.” Through a joint investment with real estate partners of approximately $180 million, CEVA plans to triple the surface area of solar panels covering the roofs of its contract logistics warehouses around the world, the release said. “By the end of 2025, the company expects to have approximately 1.8 million square metres of solar panels installed at its facilities — an area 2.25 times the size of France’s famed Palace of Versailles. With this coverage area, the company estimates it will generate approximately 135,000 MWH per year.”

Air cargo tonnages from Asia Pacific to Europe and North America bounced back strongly in the last two weeks from their Lunar New Year holiday lull with some signs of the worldwide market stabilising following months of demand and rate declines, says the latest update from WorldACD Market Data. “After having reported last week that worldwide air cargo tonnages recovered faster and more strongly this year in the initial weeks since the annual Lunar New Year holiday downturn, we see now a continuing stabilising trend for both tonnages and the global average rate, albeit significantly lower than those of early 2022,” the report said. Data for week 7 (February 13-19) show a small decrease (2 percent) in worldwide tonnages compared with the previous week. “On the pricing side, global average rates remained completely stable compared with the previous week, although underlying regional trends can differ strongly, particularly related to Asia Pacific.” Comparing weeks 6 and 7 with the preceding two weeks (2Wo2W), tonnages are up 3 percent above their combined total in weeks 4 and 5, accompanied by a 3 percent increase in capacity whereas average worldwide rates went up by 2 percent based on the more than 400,000 weekly transactions covered by WorldACD’s data.

Ethiopian Airlines has added a freighter service between China and Belgium as it looks to capitalise on growing e-commerce demand. The new service will initially operate twice a week flying between Shenzhen and Liege utilising B777F aircraft.  The carrier said that the service was its first scheduled cargo service from the Chinese airport. The service will mainly carry cross-border e-commerce and other special industrial products. The number of flights will be increased in the future according to cargo demand. The airport now has airlines offering freighter services to 57 destinations. In 2022, the cargo and mail throughput of Shenzhen Airport ranked third in China and in the top 20 globally. The airport processed a total of 1.5m tons of cargo in 2022, a dip of 3.9% on 2021 levels. However, Shenzhen handled 776,000 tons of international airfreight in 2022, a nearly 20% increase for the third year running. Meanwhile, the volume of cross-border e-commerce cargo carried by air from the airport increased by 38.2% year on year.

Baku-based freighter operator Silk Way West Airlines has expanded its scheduled network in the Middle East and Central Asia as it looks to capitalise on rising demand. The expansion sees the carrier operating two scheduled freighter flights a week between Baku Heydar Aliyev International Airport and Dammam King Fahd International Airport and Tashkent International Airport. The carrier said that the two locations were “among the most important international air cargo gateways in their respective regions”. Over the past decade, Silk Way West Airlines has served both destinations through charter services, shipping general cargo including textiles, cars, perishables and other goods. “These new routes will also enable Silk Way West Airlines to meet its strategic goals of serving increased international demand and significantly expanding its global network,” the carrier said. Silk Way West Airlines vice president CIS and Central Asia Vugar Mammadov said: “The demand for transportation to the Middle East and on the Middle Corridor route continues to rise. As a result, Azerbaijan is gaining increasing importance as a central logistics hub. “We are pleased that now we can offer our customers regular flights from Baku to Dammam and Tashkent. We will continue to increase the number of flights we operate, as well as the destinations we serve, as Silk Way West Airlines continues to expand opportunities for its customers around the world.”

Cathay Pacific Cargo has been rebranded as Cathay Cargo as part of the Cathay group’s overall brand redesign. The launch of the new name follows several ‘refreshed’ solutions, said the carrier, including Cathay Priority and Cathay Pharma. Cathay Mail. Group chief executive Ronald Lam said, “This is an opportune moment to align our cargo business with the master brand as we continue our cargo investments in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area for a promising future. This rebrand reflects our Cargo business’ commitment to the same ‘Move Beyond’ ambition as the Group, while building on a strength that the Cathay brand has long been known for – offering leading-edge services to our customers.” A statement said, “These services cater to the respective burgeoning demands by customers for effective temperature-sensitive solutions, and efficient and reliable delivery solutions with new digital technology that better meets the requirements for shipment visibility, reliability and speed.” The rebranding will be done officially in March.

Suid Cargo Airlines, South Africa’s newest Cargo Airline, will begin non-scheduled flights from its hub at OR Tambo International Airport in the second quarter of 2023 utilising a leased Boeing 727-200F from Kenya’s Astral Aviation, in addition to Astral’s Boeing 747-400F, Boeing 767 and Boeing 757F on charter basis. Making the announcement at the air cargo Africa 2023 event in Johannesburg, Thomas Honiball, Accountable Manager and CEO, stated that it plans to acquire additional freighters in 2024 which will comprise of narrow body freighters such as the Airbus 320F or Boeing 737-800F in addition to the Embraer 190 Freighters in 2025. “We are honoured to support South Africa’s newest Cargo Airline, Suid Cargo Airlines, initially with our Boeing 727-200F and to offer our fleet of B747-400F, B767F and B757F on charter basis, which will enable the start up Cargo airline to scale its operations to cover Southern, West and East Africa including Asia, Middle East and Europe,” Astral Aviation’s CEO Sanjeev Gadhia said. Kevin Moodley, Commercial Director of Suid Cargo Airlines, explained that the new airline will promote exports from South Africa in addition to transit shipments to over 20 African destinations, and will have a unique Sea-Air Cargo product from the Ports of Durban and Cape Town thus reducing transit time to the land locked regions in Africa. Suid Cargo will enter into long term partnership with freight forwarders, consolidators, integrators, e-commerce retailers and shipping lines in addition to interlining with African and Foreign Airlines to promote the Johannesburg Hub with plans to transition to scheduled services in 2024 which will include operating a domestic network.

Qatar Airways Cargo has partnered with iNOMAD, a Korea-based cutting-edge air cargo platform, to enable better connectivity for one of the airline’s major customers in South Korea, Woojung Air and also help the airline increase its footprint in South Korea as SMEs operating with Woojung Air will be able to compare Qatar Airways Cargo’s offerings on the iNOMAD portal. Woojung Air is a prominent consolidator in South Korea and one of the top customers of Qatar Airways Cargo. Guillaume Halleux, Chief Officer Cargo at Qatar Airways said, “Digital transformation is high on our agenda as part of our VISION 2027 and Next Generation Strategy. The integration and partnership with iNOMAD brings multiple benefits to our customers in South Korea such as enhanced visibility of our capacity, rates as well as real time confirmation of their shipments. Customers can benefit from instant access to these features at their fingertips and that is the huge advantage digitalisation brings in.” Joon-suk Yim, the CEO of iNOMAD, said, “Its strength is to promote the accessibility of air cargo service by optimizing extensive logistics data for clients and provide boundless service and information to both IATA/CASS members and non-members in real-time. Developing this business, we are grateful and proud to start a new partnership with Qatar Airways, a top-tier airline, that can provide us with vital information in expanding our logistics service.” He also added, “We aim to become a search engine for the air logistics field in which clients can check the information they need in real-time, regardless of time and place. We thus plan to do our best to nourish our customized services to build a stronger partnership, cherishing the meaningful opportunity to …

IBS Software has announced the completion of a transaction to acquire Accenture Freight and Logistics Software, which provides technology platforms to help airline and ocean transportation companies manage freight operations and grow through digital transformation. The acquisition will strengthen IBS Software’s leadership as a technology provider to the airfreight industry by bringing together complementary solutions and a shared vision for innovating and transforming the air cargo businesses, a company spokesperson announced. VK Mathews, Executive Chairman of IBS Software, said the acquisition is an important milestone for the company’s cargo and logistics business in its bid to broaden its global footprint, with ocean transportation being a natural adjacent industry to expand into. “It is also a synergistic opportunity to bring decades of our experience and expertise to the ocean cargo business, as well as strengthen our own capabilities to provide greater value to the air cargo customers.”

Kenya Airways Cargo is looking to expand its freighter fleet following the success of its cargo-only flights during the Covid pandemic. Speaking at an event, Kenya Airways’ cargo director Dick Murianki said the carrier would initially look to add to its existing short-haul freighter fleet, which currently consists of two B737-300Fs. Murianki said that the carrier was hoping to add two B373-800Fs, which have better range and can reach further afield than the existing freighters. “They can go from Nairobi to the Middle East and India and even have the range to reach Istanbul and southern Europe carrying around 20 tonnes,” he explained. He said that once the two B737-800Fs are in place, the carrier would then examine long-haul freighters. On the reasoning behind the freighter investments, Murianki said that during the Covid crisis the airline had expanded its cargo operations using its passenger aircraft. “We developed a customer base during the Covid time that is yearning for more, especially to the Middle East and India,” he said. Kenya Airways chief executive Allan Kilavuka also added that two B787-9 Dreamliners had been used on cargo-only flights to long-haul destinations in China and Europe during the pandemic, with each aircraft able to carry around 50 tonnes per flight.