Category Archives: Aviation

Blue Dart, India’s leading express logistics service provider and part of the Deutsche Post DHL Group (DPDHL) has been facilitating the transport of oxygen concentrators amongst other essential COVID relief medical equipment across the length and breadth of the Indian terrain. Speaking about fulfilling the responsibility taken on, Balfour Manuel, Managing Director, Blue Dart said, “As we fight the second wave of COVID-19, findings of a double mutant indicate despite heightened efforts, that our battle to inoculate a sizeable population may still take a longer duration. We understand in these times when livelihood and supply Chains are stressed, our mission and purpose of ‘Connecting People, Improving Lives’ is extremely important. Blue Dart continues to use, its fleet of Boeing 757 freighters and resources at its disposal to play a key role in transporting O2 concentrators and critical medical supplies within the country; through our scheduled and International charter flights, ground network; supporting individuals and corporates alike. Through the pandemic, our people, have demonstrated their ‘Can do’ attitude standing true to our value of customer-centricity.”

Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) is expanding its air cargo facility by 136 acres and will almost tripple its airfreight warehousing space. To support its expansion and cargo handling capabilities, PHL has formed a partnership with Aviation Facilities Company (AFCO) and has also become a member of TIACA. PHL’s expansion plan includes the construction of cargo buildings totaling more than 1m sq ft, bringing its cargo building coverage to 1.4m sq ft. Stephanie Wear, director of air service development and cargo services at PHL, commented: “We have a huge opportunity to become one of the most successful cargo airports on the East Coast, focusing on speed, efficiency and quality. Our ability to attract and collaborate closely with world-class partners is a major strength of this programme.” Chellie Cameron, chief executive of PHL, added: “This initiative will have a massive economic impact on the region and cement Philadelphia’s status as an intermodal logistics hub. We are thrilled to begin this work in partnership with our interdisciplinary partners to drive both immediate and long-term growth.”

Finnair Cargo is now offering e-quotes and e-bookings for its airfreight capacity to forwarders through the CargoAi online platform. The largest air cargo carrier in the Nordic and Baltic region, Finnair Cargo said the move will “guarantee visibility” and is in line with its sales digitalisation strategy. Head of revenue and pricing Karri Kauppi said: “With CargoAi, we have been moving fast with the integration and we are very happy to be able to provide this service to our customers. We speak the same language and the cargo challenges we face are fully understood and integrated into the tool.” CargoAir chief executive, Matthieu Petot, added: “We’re very proud to partner with Finnair Cargo, which is a pioneering cargo carrier in the field of digitalisation and was one of the first to put APIs in place. The airline’s network and its product expertise fully meet the needs of our forwarder clients.”

Air Canada and Air Canada Cargo have announced the initial list of planned routes for the Boeing 767-300ER freighters scheduled to enter service this fall. Air Canada is in the process of fully converting several of its Boeing 767 aircraft into dedicated freighters in order to fully participate in global cargo commercial opportunities. “These freighters will provide long-term stability and growth for our cargo customers, in particular the freight forwarding community who require reliable air freight capacity year-round. They will allow us to continue building on the success of our cargo-only flights and are an important part of our future growth. I am excited to have these aircraft enter service, a milestone for Air Canada Cargo that also opens up a world of opportunities for us and our customers,” said Jason Berry, vice president, Cargo at Air Canada.

Teleport, the logistics venture of airasia digital is further reinforcing its position as a key air logistics player in Asia with the operation of its very first freighter, a dedicated 737-800F and the conversion of two (2) AirAsia A320 passenger aircrafts, with seats removed for increased capacity. The freighter will begin operations across Asia beginning Q3 2021 and will operate out of the Teleport hub in Bangkok. The additional capacity will strengthen its route network between China, India and Southeast Asia and offer improved connectivity to and from Teleport’s long-haul markets. Adrian Loretz, Chief Operating Officer of Teleport said, “We are excited to share this expansion as we strengthen our logistics footprint across Asia. It was evident at the end of last year that the demand for cargo capacity was not going to be served with passenger belly capacity alone in the long run. So, we evaluated the option to utilise dedicated freighters to transport cargo. This is also part of our strategy to build the capacity and connectivity to offer 24 hours door-to-door delivery across all of Southeast Asia.”

In continued effort to support India and combat the second wave of COVID-19, FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) and the world’s largest express transportation company, today announced the arrival of a third dedicated charter flight carrying much needed COVID-19 supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) to India. The third FedEx Boeing 777F charter flight carrying over 250,000 face shields, 100,000 goggles, more than 80,000 coveralls and gowns and over 134,000 KN95 and N95 masks landed on June 13, 2021 in Mumbai, India from Memphis, Tennessee. Items arriving on the charter flight were donated by Dignity Health, coordinated by TMC Navya, and will be distributed by Direct Relief to medical facilities in India through Tata Memorial Centre. To date, FedEx has moved thousands of oxygen concentrators, and hundreds of tonnes of medical supplies and aid into the country. FedEx has previously donated two charter Boeing 777F flights from the USA to India, which flew on May 9 and May 16, transporting thousands of oxygen concentrators and other medical aid for Direct Relief.

AirBridgeCargo Airlines has awarded a three-year cargo handling contract to Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) in Atlanta. WFS said the carrier is its “launch customer” at its new cargo terminal at Atlanta International Airport. Under the terms of the agreement, the handler will process around 9,500 tonnes of cargo each year from AirBridgeCargo’s Boeing 747-400ERF freighter flights. WFS opened its cargo terminal at Atlanta Airport in May this year under a 20-year lease agreement. The facility is located in the hub’s new Cargo Building C, the first new cargo terminal to open at the airport since the 1980s. Mike Simpson, executive vice president Americas at WFS, commented: “AirBridgeCargo is an important and growing customer of WFS globally. Through multiple contracts in the US and Europe, we are consistently proving our ability to deliver the service excellence ABC demands for its customers, as well as our expertise in supporting the airline’s portfolio of special cargoes services, including for pharmaceuticals and oversized shipments.

Airbus SE is poised to begin taking orders for a freighter version of its A350 wide-body as soon as next month, in a challenge to Boeing Co.’s dominance in the market for dedicated cargo aircraft. The European planemaker has been speaking to more than a dozen potential customers and will seek board authorization to market the new plane in the coming weeks, provided it can line up enough commitments, according to people familiar with the matter. The program could officially launch by year-end, said the people, who sought anonymity discussing confidential matters. Going after a segment where Boeing has long held sway would mark a major strategic push for Airbus. Chief Executive Officer Guillaume Faury told Bloomberg News in April that he’s keen to challenge his U.S. rival and that the A350, a modern, lightweight plane with carbon-fiber wings and hull, would be “a strong candidate” for a freighter.

Cargo.one and Saudia Cargo say their recent partnership comes in light of rising demand for digital services. In mid-April, Saudia Cargo announced plans to add its capacity to the online booking portal as it continues with its digitalisation drive. The rollout is planned for June. Teddy Zebitz, chief cargo officer, Saudia Cargo said, “Overall, digitalisation is playing a vital role in the ecosystem. Everything from shipper to terminal to end user. Today digital solutions offer wide range of tools covering the needs of fast pace life and answer to rising expectation from our customers and partners. Our focus in utilising digitisation is to optimise our operation, provide seamless customer experience and strengthen the relation and help connect all global key players across the supply chain and have better alignment to optimize throughput and available capacity.”

Emirates SkyCargo has announced extension of its fully automated cool room with 94 airline pallet positions at its EU GDP certified dedicated pharma facility at Dubai International Airport, a move which will further strengthen the carrier’s temperature sensitive pharma and vaccine handling capabilities in Dubai. This extension of cool room will provide an additional 2600 square metres of temperature-controlled environment (2-25 degrees Celsius) for the storage and handling of pharma products including vaccines at Emirates SkyCargo’s purpose-built GDP certified facility. The new extension is capable of holding an estimated 60-90 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines at one time. Ever since the outbreak of the pandemic, the airline is playing a leading role in the international distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. It has transported over 75 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines on more than 250 flights to over 60 destinations since late 2020.