Category Archives: Aviation

Kuehne+Nagel’s start to the 2021 business year was marked by a strong demand in transport services, especially for pharma and e-commerce fulfilment. Kuehne+Nagel achieved an excellent result in this environment; net turnover of over CHF 6 billion, EBIT of CHF 431 million and earnings for the period of CHF 318 million were all significantly higher year-on-year. Dr. Detlef Trefzger, CEO of Kuehne + Nagel International AG, says, “Exactly one year ago, when we were still at the beginning of the pandemic, we decided to commit to our proven strategy. Upon reflection, we are assured that we chose the correct path. In the first quarter of 2021, we were well-prepared to serve our customers’ robust demand for high quality logistics services despite the tense market environment. We expect this environment to remain challenging for the remainder of another atypical year.” Sea Logistics The positive profit trend reversal in Sea Logistics, already noted in the second half of 2020, continued in the first quarter of 2021. Kuehne+Nagel delivered intensified service to meet exceedingly high customer demands particularly in the US, in an environment of limited container capacities, reduced terminal productivity and increasing demand. Volume growth was particularly strong in the consumer goods segment. Container volumes in the first quarter of 2021 were up 2% year-on-year at 1.1 million TEU, despite a decline in recyclables demand. The unit’s net turnover was nearly CHF 2.4 billion and EBIT CHF 206 million. The conversion rate reached a record high of 42.7%. With a new alert feature in the online Seaexplorer platform, Sea Logistics customers are informed promptly about irregularities in container transport. This transparency proved particularly helpful to remedy disrupted supply chains during the Suez …

Responding to a boom in e-commerce and general cargo traffic, Australian airfreight consolidator Consol Alliance has increased its services from the UK to four Australian Airports. Consol Alliance now serves Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Brisbane a total of 20 times weekly, using premium carriers and a proven transhipment routing. All cargo is pre-palletised before presentation to carriers for added security, safer transits and faster handling. The company is offering both door-door and airport-airport options. A steady rise in demand throughout 2020 is seeing Consol Alliance now handling a record 300 tonnes of airfreight per month on the UK-Australia trade lane alone, and the company has already processed 500,000 inbound e-commerce parcels in the first quarter of 2021. Alana Raitt, National Airfreight Product Manager, says, “Having successfully maintained a totally reliable service throughout the last year, despite the considerable challenges, we are pleased to announce this increase in capacity and frequency to Australia, with over 20 consolidations per week from the UK. Capacity has not been an issue for us. We make bookings one month in advance, and have pre-allocations to all airports. Our consistent support for carriers and our excellent carrier relations have given us a strong edge in securing space for our customers.” Although the normal services do not allow for outsize or project shipments, these can be accommodated on a back-to-back (separate AWB) basis, still receiving attractive rates. Consol Alliance is also attracting dense cargo by offering discounts based on its ability to optimise pallet capacity by carefully combining dense and volume cargo. “For Dense cargo, we will always beat competitors’ pricing, and our local arrival charges are also discounted,” adds Alana. Consol Alliance says its service quality …

TAP Air Cargo has launched a new online booking portal which allows more autonomy in managing bookings and tracking shipments. The online booking portal has a more modern and intuitive design which allows remote accessibility anytime and anywhere with all the information about cargo bookings on different devices (computer, tablet or mobile). Through the new TAP Air Cargo portal, agents now have independence in managing their bookings and can consult flights and prices, space availability, print labels, update bookings and send AWB (Airwaybill) and HAWB (House Airwaybill). The handling of electronic waybills (eAWB) will also become possible autonomously (providing that IATA requirements are met). The new portal provides a fully digital booking process, combined with the concern of constantly improving the user experience. It is available at https://www.tapcargo.com/en/manage-booking, after registration (only for agents) in the user area.

Antonov Airlines has transported 14 pieces of mining equipment, weighing 216 tonnes in total, on two AN-124-100 flights from Istanbul, Turkey to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and Monrovia, Liberia. The 113-tonne cargo for the second flight was safely loaded in minimal time to meet the tight deadline required by the mines, both in the process of expanding operations. “These two flights from Turkey to Africa were meticulously planned and both flights were completed with maximum payloads on each route,” said Eugene Kiva, commercial executive at Antonov Airlines. “Antonov Airlines provided the flexibility required by our partner Skyair Chartering to perform these air shipments within the customer’s deadlines.” The airline made a single technical stop in Algiers, Algeria for the 103 tonne Burkina Faso-bound cargo and two stops in Casablanca, Morocco, and Diass-Thies, Senegal for the journey to Liberia to refuel and provide crew rests. “As per our customer’s request for the delivery of large quantities of oversized drill machinery in a short timeframe, the two flights provided by Antonov Airlines made sure the needs of the expanding mining facilities were met,” said Tekin Ertemel, Director Business development at Skyair Chartering. “Antonov’s AN-124-100s are equipped with ramps, which are ideal to transport heavy and oversized loads safely and easily, contributing greatly to the delivery of a seamless operation.” Antonov Airlines has seen an increase in charters for mining projects since the beginning of the year and just last month completed three flights of equipment weighing 370 tonnes to Latin America from Australia.

Continental Carriers has successfully completed the door to door movement of Airbus H145 helicopter ex Germany, Donauworth to Mumbai on April 21, 2021. H145- Airbus twin-engine light utility helicopter can carry up to nine passengers along with two crew in standard configuration. The helicopter will be used for passenger transport, corporate transport, emergency medical services (EMS), search and rescue, para-public and utility roles with the possibility of reconfiguration for various roles. With experience of 64 years in the logistics industry, Continental Carriers is a proud member of IATA Family, one of the pioneers of CHA License Holders and International Freight Forwarding business with strong partner presence across the globe. Continental’s global service portfolio includes AOG’s, ODD Dimension, HAZ movements. The Group’s Aerospace Team has for over a decade been the first choice for Private Carriers, OEM’s, MRO and Lessors.

IndiGo has initiated a freighter programme and is in the process of sourcing four A321ceo aircraft each of which will be converted from passenger jets to a full freighter configuration. A Letter of Intent has been signed with a lessor for two aircraft already, and IndiGo expects to reach agreement for the next two shortly. The initiative will make best use of the natural synergies that IndiGo offers, using the same pool of pilots and engineers that fly and service its current fleet. The A321P2F (Passenger-to-Freighter conversion) is the most efficient narrow-bodied freighter available, offering 24 container positions and supporting a payload of up to 27 tonnes. These are being converted through a programme involving ST Engineering and Airbus with their joint venture, Elbe FlugzeugWerke (EFW). IndiGo is expected to take the delivery of its first freighter in the first half of 2022, which will be used for both domestic and regional missions. The remaining three aircraft in the initial commitment are expected to arrive within a year or so from arrival of our first freighter, and further aircraft may be sourced depending on market development. Ronojoy Dutta, Chief Executive Officer and Wholetime Director, IndiGo said, “CarGo has been a success story over the last year, scaling new heights and creating new records, but our belief in the cargo business goes beyond the special circumstances right now. IndiGo was already the largest carrier of cargo in domestic India before Covid-19, and we expect the market to continue to grow after the pandemic. Our investment in the Airbus Freighter Programme will help strengthen our product and services in the segment, and not only help accelerate our own business recovery but also …

Located adjacent to its existing operation within the ALPS Free Trade Zone at Changi Airport, B&H Worldwide has doubled the size of its operation in Singapore. The new facility will cater for business growth in one of the fastest growing aerospace markets in the world. The new unit will enable B&H Worldwide to continue serving customers with aero assets requiring strict quality and climate control storage in a Free Trade Zone setting. It will also provide significant additional space to store aircraft engines and other large specialist items requiring environmental controlled protection within the 28,000 sq foot facility. B&H’s extensive capabilities in the aerospace logistics field mean it operates 24/7/365 from the strategically located Singapore facility and has established a Control Tower Operation and additional Quality Monitoring Centre there from which it provides full connectivity to customers across the globe. Says B&H Worldwide’s Group CEO, Stuart Allen, who is based in Singapore, “State-of-the-art facilities under-pinned by cutting edge IT and this doubling in the size of our operation here will enable us to meet the strong demand we are now seeing from customers across the aerospace industry. It will also allow us to further extend the range of additional services we can offer customers including long and short-term storage, inventory management, neutralising and unit inspection, all in accordance with EN9120:2018 requirements.”

With an aim to strengthen its air cargo offering, CEVA Logistics has launched two new services today; the new SKYCAPACTY program offering guaranteed access to global air cargo capacity for customers in a market that continues to experience volatility and the company has invested in a dedicated global team to offer its new premium ‘time critical solution’, delivering custom, guaranteed transport for time-critical, no-failure shipments. Owned, controlled capacity in a volatile market In setting up the SKYCAPACITY program, CEVA Logistics has purchased recurring capacity on key routes to create a global network of available capacity. Current and new customers are able to benefit from CEVA’s owned, controlled capacity of dozens of flights every week, offering consistent pricing and guaranteed capacity despite market peaks and lows. The network is also available as a spot cargo solution for customers, and weekly spot rates will be available on the CEVA Logistics website and via a weekly bulletin. The CEVA SKYCAPACITY network currently offers a variety of destinations to and from North and South America, Europe and Asia Pacific. The owned, controlled network spans multiple carriers and includes freighter, pax freighter and passenger capacity — all available with leading management, tracking and customs services. Global solution for time-critical shipments CEVA Logistics’ new Time Critical Solution is ideal for clients in healthcare, automotive, Aerospace or manufacturing environments, where specific parts or products are needed in emergency or short-timeframe situations. The new solution offers the reliability and security needed for emergency and rush shipments with priority placements given to ensure a 100 percent on-time shipment with the fastest routing possible. The service also includes full insurance and customs clearance, ensuring the quickest possible transit times. To …

Turkish Cargo is joining the WebCargo, a Freightos Group company to provide real-time e-bookings, access live rates, and see available air cargo capacity to the provide forwarders around the world. This provides critical agility as air cargo contends with unexpected shifts due to the global pandemic. Christian Tesch, Director – Airfreight Carrier Relations & Procurement, Hellmann Worldwide Logistics said, “Live access to capacity and price supports our ongoing commitment to providing Hellmann customers with outstanding service. We’re delighted to see Turkish Cargo on WebCargo.” Turkish Cargo will first roll out on WebCargo in Spain and India and will be quickly followed by rollouts in several more countries. With the airline’s shift to global e-bookings, more than 20 per cent of global air cargo capacity will now be digitized, providing more than 2,000 WebCargo forwarders customers across over 10,000 global branches with instant access to capacity and pricing. Turhan OZEN, Chief Cargo Officer, Turkish Airlines, said, “Effective leadership is required to handle the customers constantly diversifying demands accurately across the air cargo industry. As the air cargo brand with one of the widest networks in the world, we focus on digital solutions. We are pleased to partner with WebCargo to provide digital connectivity for our customers as part of our commitment to constant innovation in offering the best service possible.” Manuel Galindo, CEO, WebCargo, said, “In the past year, e-bookings have increased tenfold on WebCargo, making it clear that the future of air cargo is digital. We’re incredibly proud to partner with Turkish Cargo, one of the most impactful and influential global cargo airlines, to launch e-bookings for forwarders around the world.”

Astral Aviation, the Kenya-based cargo-only carrier, has uplifted 19.5 tonnes humanitarian cargo of vaccines in its first cargo flight from Mumbai International Airport Mumbai, India to Sanaa International Airport, Yemen via Djibouti-Ambouli International Airport. Sanjeev Gadhia, CEO and founder, Astral Aviation, stated, “Astral has never operated any flights to and from India which has been served via interline partners. During the pandemic, due to lack of direct capacity and connectivity between India and Africa, Astral has received a number of requests for the transportation of Covid-19 vaccines and pharma to and within Africa which are originating from Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. This inaugural flight offers new opportunities for Astral’s clients to move freight from India via Astral’s Nairobi hub, and we look forward to operate more charters in 2021 due to the high demand for medical cargo.” The aircraft arrived in Mumbai on April 18 at 16.00 hrs GMT from Nairobi via Muscat. On return, the routing will be from Mumbai-Djibouti (Ambouli International Airport)-Sanaa. As Ambouli airport is close to Yemen, all planes flying humanitarian cargo is expected to make a security stop before flying to Yemen. Astral has performed in excess of 300 charters for the humanitarian sector into Aden and Sanaa, using a combination of B727-200F, DC9F, CRJ200PF and Fokker 27. He is also confident that Astral Aviation will be able to operate more charters from India in 2021 due to the high demand for medical cargo.