Category Archives: Aviation

Looking at various components of cost, Tulsi Mirchandaney, Managing Director, Blue Dart Aviation, says, “Air Turbine Fuel (ATF) accounts for 40 per cent of total direct cost of aircraft operation. Perhaps it is time now that freighters should be treated differently; at least bring them under the GST regime. Secondly, it is the cost of infrastructure. Now privatisation has brought us many benefits, be it the efficiency that has come in the airport, the kind of facilities we have or reduced dwell times but still the cost is high. The model of revenue sharing needs to be viewed differently so that it is cost neutral between the government as well as the airport operators. Thirdly, it is important that we deliver on time certain modules and for that we need to do our own self-handling which is possible for an airport operator and we have had that in several airports, but some airports still view us differently. The solution to this could be to lease the facility directly from an airport operator rather than from a third party who neither adds quality nor more efficiency in terms of process nor reduces the cost.

Ethiopian Cargo & Logistics Services has partnered with RTS on cargo revenue management (velocity) and pricing (AcceleRate) solutions. Fitsum Abady, MD, Ethiopian Cargo & Logistics Services states, “We are very optimistic that having Revenue Management and Pricing system will help us to maximise revenue by utilising the available capacity for high yield cargos. This revenue maximization would be achieved using an automated decision-making system that would be accurately forecasting cargo capacity by flight and a price range for evaluating pricing requests. It also helps allocate capacity to the appropriate products in such a way that maximizes profit. “ According to Mukundh Parthasarathy, Senior Vice President for Revenue Technology Services, “At the rate at which Ethiopian Cargo is growing, the solution would be instrumental in automating the revenue and pricing management.”

AirBridgeCargo Airlines has moved 41 RKN containers for DSV on a scheduled flight from the Amsterdam, the Netherlands to Shanghai, China. The carrier flew the containers, which were manufactured by CSafe Global and contained more than 30 tonnes of temperature-sensitive pharma, on the lower and main decks of a Boeing 747-8 freighter aircraft. Amounting to a total of 11,000 tonnes, the airline has managed to achieve a 60 per cent uptick in temperature-sensitive pharma cargo from January to June this year. Yulia Celetaria, Global Director – Pharma, AirBridgeCargo Airlines, says, “This transportation, to some extent, is the rehearsal to check that we are prepared for the Covid-19 vaccine once its testing is finalised.”

“The digitisation has stood as a critical element in maintaining business continuity, safeguarding productivity, optimising processes & resources as well as ensuring the safety of the people at operations during the current COVID-19 crisis,” says Manoj Singh, Sr. Vice President & Head – Cargo, Mumbai International Airport. The continues, “The online transactions like e-reception, e-carting order, electronic FWB/FHL transmission, e-segregation report and e-delivery order in imports has averted overcrowding at the air cargo terminal and has enabled us to maintain social distancing very effectively at the cargo terminal premises. The e-freight and digital solutions offered by Mumbai Air Cargo have additionally helped us respond rapidly to the current challenges, recover from the delays and backlogs, and bring back normalcy in cargo operations while facing severe resource crunch due to the lockdown measures.”

Volga-Dnepr Airlines has partnered with Kuehne+Nagel (K+N) to move a power turbine from the UK to Russia. The 4.5 tonnes cargo was loaded into Volga-Dnepr’s An-124 aircraft (IL-76TD-90VD) aircraft using its onboard crane system before being flown to the Midlands, UK. Ekaterina Andreeva, Commercial Director, Volga-Dnepr Airlines, says, “For over two decades Volga-Dnepr Airlines and K+N have partnered on projects which have allowed us to innovate and develop new solutions together – pushing the boundaries on what air freight can do. Starting with our An-124 and IL-76 charter flights, and then progressing to partnership on scheduled operations with AirBridgeCargo Airlines, we work under the alignment of specialty cargo transportation across the globe.

The Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru has recently processed a consignment of 24,200 ornamental fish. With approvals from Indian Customs and the Bengaluru Animal Quarantine Services, the consignment was transported to Kozhikode, Kerala. The consignment, which arrived at Bengaluru Airport from Thailand through DHL Express on AeroLogic freighter, was handled by Menzies Aviation Bobba Bengaluru Cargo Terminal. The varieties included Betta Splendens (Fighting Fish) and Flower Horn Fish.

While lockdowns and travel restrictions have starved the skies of passengers, air cargo demand; particularly for PPE has been racing ahead of capacity. Sharing how Cathay Pacific has managed to sustain in business, Rajesh Menon, Regional Head of Cargo – South Asia, Middle East & Africa, Cathay Pacific, says, “We have introduced a number of measures including the 100 per cent E-Airway bill (E-AWB) across India and also enabled a digital payment platform for all import delivery order payments. Both introductions have not only helped us go paperless but have also reduced the risk of physical interaction, thereby safeguarding the health of all our partners. The recently introduced payment platform has also been widely accepted by the agents and freight forwarders as it gives them flexibility to choose from a wide array of payment options. We have also developed two digital platforms; one for our cargo agents to make their booking and allotment process a lot faster and convenient, while the other is for our internal handling.”

Targeting the life sciences market, DHL Global Forwarding has opened a new $1.6m facility in Indianapolis in the US. The building offers bonded services and three temperature controlled chambers: 15-25 degrees celsius storage and handling, 2-8 degrees celsius storage and handling and -20 degrees celsius storage and handling. Together the temperature controlled areas measure close to 20,000 sq ft and will be able to process pharmaceutical, biotech or medical devices that require a temperature-controlled environment. “This new building is especially important now during these challenging times, when temperature controlled logistics is crucial in helping customers navigate the pandemic,” said David Goldberg, Chief Executive, DHL Global Forwarding, US.

To continue accessing CHAMP’s Traxon cargoHUB and Traxon CDMP solutions, Lufthansa Cargo extended its partnership with CHAMP. The airline will be able to gain synergies and cargo insights through its continued use of CHAMP’s Traxon CDMP, a tool that measures over 40 per cent of the worldwide Cargo iQ airline shipments. The carrier will also benefit from being a part of CHAMP’s air cargo digital interchange community – the Traxon CargoHUB. “Traxon CargoHUB efficiently links the entire global airfreight community, irrespective of their IT configuration or systems resulting in higher productivity and lower costs,” explains CHAMP, in adding. “It improves supply chain quality and completeness; bookings, operations, document handling and customs processes can be executed and confirmed in seconds; it can be aligned with and updated to latest industry standards; it enables standard and custom message processing and conversions.”

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), air cargo demand is recovering slowly from the effect of COVID-19. The association has released data for global air freight markets in June showing improvement, but at a slower pace than some of the traditional leading indicators would suggest. Global demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs*), fell by 17.6 per cent in June (-19.9 per cent for international operations) compared to the previous year. That is a modest improvement from the 20.1 per cent year-on-year drop recorded in May. However, global capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACTKs), shrank by 34.1 per cent in June ( 33.9 per cent for international operations) compared to the previous year. This was on par with the 34.8 per cent year-on-year drop in May.