Category Archives: Aviation

Cathay Pacific Cargo has announced that the carrier is back to full schedule. Tom Owen, Director said in a statement, “I am pleased to report that steadily emerging from what has been a challenging time for the business. We have always tried to put as much cargo capacity as we can into the market, but it is an exciting time for us as we start to rebuild our overall network and schedule. The biggest news of the month is resumption of our full freighter schedule. We will be operating between 90 and 100 freighters each week. We are planning to operate 500 cargo-only-passenger flights a month around the region. They will provide strong lift over the next few months to feed our reactivated long-haul freighter services.”

Global cargo traffic fell 5.6 per cent in May 2022 as compared to May 2021, as per the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA). AAPA blamed supply chain disruptions and slowing demand, leading to a year-on-year decline in freight tonne kilometres in May. Freight capacity expanded by 1 per cent year-on-year compared to the same month last year, which led to a 4.8 percentage point decline in the global load factor to an average of 69.4 per cent for the month, it added. Subhas Menon, Director General, AAPA said, “After a buoyant 2021, air cargo demand is facing headwinds with export orders facing downward pressures, driven by an increasingly cloudy global economic outlook.”

IAG Cargo has joined the Neutral Air Partner (NAP) network as an airline partner. NAP, which also includes consolidators, general sales agents, charter brokers, forwarders and express operators among its members, said it would work with IAG Cargo jointly in various initiatives to support small and medium sized forwarders, said a statement. IAG Cargo includes the airfreight operations of British Airways, Aer Lingus and Iberia in markets including Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa, and the Americas. Christos Spyrou, Chief Executive, NAP said, “Small and medium-sized forwarders and consolidators represent over 45 per cent of the global airfreight volumes and our network is comprised of leading and independent air cargo sales agents and consolidators worldwide. Through our NAP Global Airline Partner Programme, we aim to significantly increase our cargo volumes to IAG Cargo, and to access cargo capacity on key trade lanes.”

Mammoth Freighters has given contract to Collins Aerospace for its “Main Deck Cargo Handling Systems” as part of its 777 P2F conversion programme. In a LinkedIn post, Mammoth stated, “The Mammoth system will share parts commonality with the 777 production freighter already in service with many operators, and most high use/high mortality components will be interchangeable with OEM materials. This cargo handling system has been proven reliable through years of service and this award is welcomed by the operator community. Our alliance with Collins Aerospace is an addition to the Mammoth Freighters 777 P2F conversion programme.” Triumph Group’s Interiors business has recently been awarded a contract for composite air distribution ducts on Mammoth Freighters’ Boeing 777 Passenger to Freighter (P2F) conversions.

Chennault International Airport, United States, is likely to open its new air cargo facility next month. “The concrete is down, and we are looking forward to an early August opening of our new US$4 million air cargo pass-through facility. It is the latest initiative by the Chennault team to expand opportunities and grow the area economy,” stated a statement. Construction of the 10,000 sq. ft. air cargo pass-through facility began in June 2021. In February this year, Chennault officials said it planned the facility to be certified for global cargo by federal agency US Customs and Border Protection. Construction of the facility has been funded by a US$3m capital outlay from the state and $1m from Chennault International Airport Authority funds, as per reports.

DHL Express has introduced a new route between Chubu (Nagoya) and Cincinnati in the United States. The new route is being operated by DHL Air UK and has been added in response to the increasing international shipping needs between Japan and the US. Currently, traveling three times a week, the dedicated B777F will increase its frequency to six times a week starting from 6 September 2022. This route also offers up to 102 tonne of additional capacity per flight. It will serve Trans Pacific customers along with the current five-weekly B747F flights by Polar Air Cargo Worldwide and five-weekly B777F flights by Kalitta Air, stated a release. Tony Khan, President and Representative Director, DHL Express Japan said, “The capacity expansion is in response to growth in global shipping demand from customers engaged in trade between Asia and the US, especially on routes between Japan and the US. The addition of this new route enables us to support the development of our Japanese customers’ business in the US.”

Air Cargo Forum India (ACFI) has constituted a new board for a term of 2 consecutive years 2022-2024 at the Annual General Meeting held on June 29, 2022. Yashpal Sharma, MD – Skyways Group has been appointed as the President of ACFI for this period. Cyrus Katgara, the past President handed over the mantle to new board. Katgara will be part of the current board as Ex Officio. He will continue supporting ACFI to achieve its goals and help boost the Indian economy. The ACFI’s objective is to steer and promote the development of air cargo logistics industry in India and make it at par with the best Air Cargo ecosystems of the world. ACFI has been working very closely with the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) on its vision to achieve the goal of taking Indian air space to 10 million MT by 2030-31 from the current 3.1 million MT.

IAG Cargo has partnered with Bolloré Logistics for the purchase of 1m litres of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The SAF will be delivered in two shipments—in July 2022 and November 2022. IAG was the first European airline group to commit to having SAF comprise 10 per cent of its fuel by 2030. In a release, Philippe de Crecy, Vice President, airfreight, Europe, Bolloré Logistics said, “We are committed to reduce our Scope 3 CO2 emissions created by the execution of transport by 30 per cent by 2030 as compared to 2019. This pledge is significant to us, but it’s also significant for our clients so they can achieve their carbon emission reduction goals.”

For the first time, Silk Way West Airlines has moved away from an exclusive Boeing fleet and has placed an order with Airbus for two A350 wide-bodied freighters. Airbus plans to deliver the freighters to Silk Way West during the 2027-28. The airline also has rights to increase its orders by two aircraft. With this deal, Airbus now has 33 preliminary orders and commitments for the A350 freighter program it launched late last year. The decision is another win for Airbus as it makes it challenges Boeing’s dominance in the production freighter market.

India is one of the top perishable markets for Etihad Cargo and the carrier has the plans to add capacity to key destinations in India, including daily flights to and from Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Kerala. “The trade lanes, originating from North and South Asia, go to the Middle East and Europe. The Middle East and Asia have demand for goods originating from Europe and Africa,” said Tim Isik, Vice President, Etihad Cargo. The carrier’s tonnage in and out of Ahmedabad increased by 254 per cent in 2021 as against 2020. The carrier recorded 65 per cent for Thiruvananthapuram, 40 per cent for Hyderabad, 30 per cent for Bengaluru, 10 per cent for Mumbai and 7 per cent for Delhi. “We are also adding features to our online booking portal,” he added.