Category Archives: Aviation

Continental Carriers Pvt Ltd announced the movement of Genex 1B engine, weighing over 10 tones, biggest in the GE family, from US to India. The scope of work extended from Door to Port including packing, lashing and movement of engine on Air Ride Trailer. Genex 1B engine Designed specifically for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner family. Continental Carriers Pvt Ltd Aerospace Team has for over a decade been the foremost choice for MRO/OEMs/ Commercial Carriers/Lessors for their AOG/DG/HAZ/Time Critical movements across the globe. The faith and confidence is nurtured by our dedicated AOG team who works round the clock monitoring the shipment status, end to end.

Asia Airfreight Terminal (AAT) has been awarded IATA’s Center of Excellence for Perishable Logistics (CEIV Fresh) certification in September 2021. This accreditation recognizes our strong expertise, stringent training and excellent facilities in handling perishable cargo in accordance with global standards. It enhances our service commitment and professionalism when handling temperature-sensitive shipments. There is increasing demand for the safe transportation of high-end perishables and pharmaceuticals by air. AAT is in the process of further enhancing our handling capabilities to capture these opportunities as part of Airport Authority Hong Kong’s initiative to develop HKIA into the world’s Perishables Hub.

South Africa’s national carrier South African Airways (SAA) will stretch its wings after a hiatus of over a year as it entered into the business rescue process that began on December 5, 2019. The first flight took off today from Johannesburg to Cape Town. SAA has got wings to fly once again because the government finally decided to give up its controlling stake by offloading 51 percent stake to Takatso Consortium which comprises Global Aviation and Harith General Partners. Initially, SAA will not return to the international long-haul as the market conditions are not yet right. Even though SAA has two A340-600s (owned) and one A330-300 (leased), aircraft that are capable of serving intercontinental routes, the operating cost for the old fleet is so prohibitive that the airline has decided not to resume intercontinental flights for the moment. An SAA Spokesperson said, “SAA’s current fleet includes the A330-300 which has the capability and efficiency for some international service at the right time. However, the primary focus is for maximum operational flexibility within Africa. Future fleet for international service is yet to be decided and the timing of that decision will coincide with evidence of sustained recovery in international demand.”

The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) issued a warning that the industry is facing unprecedented challenges to deal with expected fourth quarter demand for air cargo services. The air cargo industry has responded to 18 months of pressure and challenges as the industry was faced with high demand for PPE, ecommerce, vaccines, perishables and other critical cargo as economies and society went into lockdowns then reopened. Addressing this demand, supply chain partners dealt with capacity withdrawals, then capacity shortfalls as well as ever changing travel, work and quarantine restrictions forced upon crew, handling staff and other key workers. As we head towards the fourth quarter and the growing number of annual on-line shopping events, the stress on the system is expected to grow substantially. With states, particularly China, introducing a growing number of Covid related worker restrictions which are unlikely to be lifted in the near future, the industry is urged to commence preparations urgently. Such restrictions are causing cargo to be disbursed across neighbouring countries and airports, causing further challenges. Shippers are therefore encouraged to work with forwarder partners to secure required capacity as early in the cycle as possible, said the official release.

Budapest Airport is a member of the consortium which won nearly 25 million euros of support from the European Commission, as part of a sustainability project called STARGATE. The airport operator’s task will be to develop and put in place a cloud-based, paper-free air cargo handling system, together with other sustainable projects concerning mainly the terminal, energy efficiency and traffic developments. As part of the project, Budapest Airport can implement developments to a value of 1.53 million euros, 70 percent of which (1.07 million euros) is provided by the European Union, with the rest funded by Budapest Airport. Reducing carbon emissions is a key pillar of Budapest Airport’s sustainability efforts. In recognition of this, it has been awarded ACI’s carbon neutral certification for the fourth year running. In line with its objectives, the operator of Budapest Airport thus joined a consortium consisting of Brussels Airport, Athens Airport and Toulouse Airport, along with 18 other non-airport members, which submitted a successful EU funding application dedicated to tackling sustainability in the aviation sector. Following several months of preparatory work, the contract between the consortium and the European Commission was signed on 6 September 2021.

Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings announced that its subsidiary Atlas Air has entered into a long-term agreement with FedEx to provide two 747-400 freighter aircraft on a full-time aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance (ACMI) basis. This new agreement is in addition to the company’s existing multi-year peak season contract that provides FedEx with a minimum of five aircraft during the fourth quarter. Both 747-400 freighters have entered service and are flying on behalf of FedEx to support their growing express and e-commerce network. “We are pleased to grow our long-term relationship with FedEx. This agreement reflects the continued strong demand for airfreight capacity, particularly in the express and e-commerce markets,” said John W. Dietrich, president and chief executive officer of Atlas Air Worldwide. “Atlas is a leader in supporting express networks, with a focus on operating the most modern, fuel-efficient aircraft to deliver high levels of on-time performance for our customers.”

Mammoth Freighters LLC (“Mammoth”) is embarking on a long-term partnership with GDC Technics (“GDC”), a global aerospace company with extensive expertise in Engineering and Technical services, Modifications, Electronic Systems, R&D, and MRO services. The aim is to invest in a widebody maintenance and modification facility to support its Boeing 777-200LR and 777-300ER passenger-to-freighter conversion programs. Located at Alliance Airport in Fort Worth, Texas, GDC has a state-of-the-art facility with 840,000 sq feet and six widebody hangar bays for modification and maintenance work on 777 aircraft. Mammoth Co-CEO Bill Tarpley said, “By partnering with GDC, our Mammoth 777 -200LR and – 300ER freighter conversions and support initiative will be centrally located in the US in a facility designed specifically for 777-200/300 aircraft and with a skilled labor force in place.”

SpiceJet shared that it has received the approval of stakeholders to transfer its cargo and logistics services business to a subsidiary. The transfer will be on a slump sale basis, through an all-share deal worth over INR 2,555 crore, a move is aimed at helping the airline to significantly reduce its negative net worth. In a release, the budget carrier said it has received shareholders’ approval to transfer the cargo and logistics services business to its subsidiary, SpiceXpress and Logistics Private Ltd. According to the airline, the transfer will provide greater and differentiated focus to cargo and logistics business as well as allow raising capital for the business to accelerate its growth. Also, the shareholders have cleared the proposal to raise up to INR 2,500 crore through the Qualified institutional placement (QIP) route. These developments also come at a time when the airline industry is slowly recovering after being battered by the coronavirus pandemic.

GEODIS, a global leading transport and logistics services provider, is extending its AirDirect service with the addition of a twice weekly flight routed London Stansted (STN)/Amsterdam (AMS)/ Hong Kong (HKG)/STN/AMS. GEODIS will in part use its new A330-300 full freighter aircraft to operate this rotation between Europe and Asia. From October, GEODIS’ APAC customers will have access to almost 80 percent of European destinations within 24 hours. This new investment underscores the company’s enhanced focus on the APAC region and its commitment to serve a greater range of business verticals in Asian markets. As manufacturing in Asia continues to be the backbone of several key European business sectors, the requirement for exporters to secure reliable and well-priced freight forwarding services has become even more critical through the disruption brought about by the Covid-19 outbreak. The new route launch comes on the heels of the introduction of GEODIS’ Shanghai to Guadalajara flight in March this year, which has improved cargo connectivity to the West Coast of the Americas. GEODIS also continues with its dedicated service from Hong Kong to Guadalajara.

ANA Cargo has joined Pharma.Aero, a non-profit organization with its headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, family as a full member to exchange and build market knowledge and expertise. “Pharma.Aero continues to pursue its vision in achieving reliable end-to-end air transportation of pharma cargo by expanding its global network and inviting more stakeholders across the pharma air supply chain in our collaborative projects. In the near term, we wish to jointly forge quality pharma trade lanes and develop new standards and guidelines”, said Nathan De Valck, chairman, Pharma.Aero. Dai Yuasa, senior vice president of global marketing, ANA Cargo added, “We are very honored to join Pharma Aero, which brings together top global pharma companies, pharma hub airports, airlines and forwarders that focus on pharmaceuticals. We are looking forward to making further contributions to the pharma air transport sector. ANA has been focusing on the air transport of pharmaceuticals. In 2017, ANA became the first Japanese airline to obtain CEIV PHARMA certification. Under current COVID-19 situations, air transport plays a more significant social role in the transportation of vaccines, therapeutic drugs and PPEs. At the same time, we have to consider sustainability issues. It is important that we continuously improve our services such as temperature, time and container management to maintain the quality of each pharma shipment. By participating in Pharma.Aero, ANA hopes to learn and co-operate with those who are leading the pharma air transportation, so that we can deliver pharma products to the world with higher quality service.”