Category Archives: Aviation

Air cargo demand fell for the fifth month in a row in July as the industry continues to face a ‘multitude of disruptions’, according to CLIVE Data Services. The Xeneta-owned data provider said that during July air cargo demand dropped by 9% year on year and the dynamic load factor – taking into account both weight and space – slipped 8 percentage points on last year to 58%.In July rates were up 11% on a year ago – and 121% of July 2019 – but CLIVE pointed out that the gap between pre-covid levels has continued to narrow. Xeneta chief airfreight officer Niall van de Wouw said that the demand declines come as the industry is hit by a multitude of disruptions outside of its control, such as the war in Ukraine and the cost of living crisis which is increasingly affecting household budgets. Meanwhile, airlines and airports continue to suffer “severe operational challenges due to significant shortages of ground staff.”“There are many dark clouds hanging over the air cargo industry given the state of the world right now,” said van de Wouw. “Volumes are subdued, and while air cargo rates are still elevated, they are slowly but surely easing back towards pre-Covid levels. From a rates point of view, indicators suggest the market has yet to bottom out. It’s clear that airlines are following the market very closely to ensure they are deploying their assets in the best possible way because the market is moving quickly. We have already seen freighters moving away from transatlantic routes. On the Atlantic, the decline in general airfreight rates we reported for the previous three months of 2022 continued in July,” he added. …

Lufthansa Cargo is adding new flights to its all-cargo network as it continues to take delivery of freighter aircraft. The Frankfurt-hubbed carrier will add another B777 freighter into service at the end of the month, while a second A321F will begin flying in October. Lufthansa Cargo said delivery of the aircraft will allow it to expand its network and add additional flights to existing calls for its winter schedule, which comes into effect on October 30. New to the schedule is Hanoi (HAN), which will be served twice a week from Frankfurt via Mumbai (BOM) from the beginning of November. The carrier already flies twice per week to Bangkok. In addition, the carrier’s service from Frankfurt via Kansai (KIX) to Seoul (ICN) will increase from three to four weekly flights. The frequency to Hong Kong (HKG) will also be increased from four to five weekly flights.

Kuehne+Nagel has secured the equivalent volumes of a waste-based next generation biofuel to save CO2 emissions of 40,000 TEUs. “In line with the company’s zero emissions targets, customers can participate to neutralise the CO2 emissions from their own shipments on any trade or service worldwide,” says an official announcement. The Kuehne+Nagel biofuel concept is based on next generation biofuels according to RED II (EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) defines a set of sustainability and greenhouse gas emission criteria that biofluids used in transport must meet) and allocates fully traceable contingents of biofuel to the customers’ cargo. “In contrast to fossil fuels, which are an exhaustible resource and release additional CO2 emissions, next generation biofuels are produced from renewable feedstocks only and have a circular carbon lifecycle aimed at re-using waste or biomass.” Kuehne+Nagel guarantees customers 100 per cent avoidance of greenhouse gases (CO2) in sea transport as the biofuel’s production emissions and lower density compared to conventional fuels are overcompensated, the announcement added.

LATAM Group has added its fourth passenger aircraft converted to all-cargo service as part of its growth plan announced in 2021. With this aircraft, the company has a fleet of 15 freighters, says an official release. “With addition of aircraft N564LA operated by LATAM Cargo Colombia, LATAM will increase its cargo capacity between Europe and the Americas.” Andrés Bianchi, CEO, LATAM Cargo, says: “This freighter will allow us to strengthen our transatlantic offering with more capacity from Europe to the USA, and to further connect cargo to multiple destinations in South America through strategic points like our Miami hub. We plan to continue expanding service to and from markets that are relevant for our customers as the remaining freighters included in our growth plan are incorporated into our fleet.” LATAM expects to end the year with a fleet of 16 cargo aircraft after the delivery of the fifth freighter due in September, the release said.

Blue Dart has strengthened its presence by introducing 15 new retail stores across the country. The stores will be launched on 15 August 2022 and will be in Odisha, Assam, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. The new stores will widen Blue Dart’s presence in tier I and II markets in India. The expansion will act as an advantage for customers enabling Blue Dart to cater to 55,000 plus locations. With around 700 retail stores (with DHL) across India, Blue Dart offers the most reliable, resilient and responsive service providing a quick turnaround time and an enhanced direct reach to pin-codes in the country. Ketan Kulkarni, CCO, Blue Dart says, “As pioneers in Express Logistics and the nation’s trade facilitator we understand the growing logistic needs. The retail expansion will widen our network and improve accessibility to our customers. We will continue to identify new locations and will further expand our reach in order to improve last mile logistics to the remotest parts of the country.”

Industry recommended a parallel runway, an international cargo village, an aero city, and a maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facility at Parandur Greenfield airport near Chennai. At the initial discussion, the stakeholders made these recommendations to M.K. Stalin, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) said, the airport should have parallel runways rather than the intersecting ones at Chennai Airport to facilitate uninterrupted aircraft flow. A new, first-rate aviation city with top-notch infra was suggested to be built by the CII in the area surrounding the airport. The new airport’s transhipment and cargo handling capabilities could help Chennai become a major transhipment hub in South-East Asia. A separate corridor from the city to the airport by rail, metro, or road connectivity has been proposed for Chennai-Bengaluru route is overcrowded.

Handler Swissport has opened a new air cargo warehouse at Halifax Stanfield International Airport on the back of increasing demand. The 370 sq m facility is the handler’s sixth cargo location in Canada and the third new Canadian warehouse in under half a year. In comparison with 2019, the company’s volumes in Canada are up 35%, underlining the need for increased warehousing and logistics capacity. “With the opening of new warehouses across Canada, we are leveraging Swissport‘s global expertise to deliver world-class air cargo handling at more Canadian airports,” said Charles Roberge, chief executive of Swissport in Canada. “We are adding more services in more places making sure we meet the growing needs of our customers and changes in the industry. With its comprehensive service portfolio Swissport in Canada aspires to be the partner of choice for global and local customer airlines alike and we will continue to invest in our service delivery.” The company has also recently added new air cargo warehouses at Montréal–Mirabel International Airport and Edmonton International Airport.

SriLankan Cares, the CSR arm of SriLankan Airlines, takes on the cause of airlifting essential medicines gifted by Indian donors to hospitals in Sri Lanka, free of freight charges. SriLankan Cares has teamed with Sri Lankan Cargo to implement the long-term humanitarian project, aiming to channel medical product donations from India among others to hospitals in Sri Lanka that are struggling to cope with the ongoing drug shortage in the country. The project is also representative of the Sri Lankan national carrier’s enduring commitment to espouse national causes in the country’s hour of urgent need. SriLankan Cares has airlifted consignments of life-saving drugs donated by organizations and individuals. The medical supplies were flown free of freight charges on SriLankan Airlines and distributed to medical establishments across Sri Lanka.

According to report, Air India may bring back its 10 grounded wide bodied aircraft into service by early 2023. A wide body aircraft has a bigger fuel tank, allowing it to travel long global routes such as India-US and India-Canada. “Air India currently has 43 wide bodied aircraft, of which 33 are operational. This is an improvement from the 28 aircraft that the airline was operating till recently,” a statement read. “The remaining ones will be returned to service by early 2023,” it added. As per it, the progressive restoration of these aircraft has made Air India to increase schedule resilience and allow frequency and network increases over the coming months.

A new air freight service connectuthe southern Chinese metropolis of Shenzhen in Guangdong Province, and Bengaluru, was recently launched, officials from Shenzhen Ba’oan International Airport stated in a statement. Five flights between the two destinations are scheduled to be operated each week. To date, there are three freight routes linking the airport and India, and the opening of the new route will increase weekly outbound cargo volume from 190 tonnes to over 500 tonnes, officials said. Another four cargo routes connecting the airport with Hanoi, Doha, Leipzig, New York, and Bengaluru have been launched this year. So far, the number of global and regional destinations with the airport’s air cargo services has increased to 34, with 370 cargo flights being operated per week, providing strong support for the export of enterprises in the emerging city. In the first seven months of this year, the overseas cargo throughput of the airport totaled 443,000 tonnes, up 21.6 per cent annually y-o-y.