Category Archives: Aviation

Korean Air said it expects to complete the acquisition of Asiana Airlines this year, as it acknowledged that the process had “taken much longer than expected”. In a message to employees on New Year’s Day, airline chief Walter Cho said he is “confident” the merger – first announced in November 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic – will finalise this year. The integrated airline will “be a tremendous growth engine for us in the long run”, Cho added, urging employees to “work together” in its launch. “Korean Air will be poised to stand shoulder to shoulder with global leading airlines. The merger will optimise our network and allow us to operate to new destinations, so that we may offer customers more choices.” Last month, European Union competition regulators set a February deadline to review Korean Air’s proposed acquisition of Asiana Airlines. The two airlines last year gained board approval to sell the cargo business of Asiana Airlines to offset concerns about the market share the combined entity would have on the Korea-Europe trade lane. While the acquisition has gained approvals from several regulators, including in Singapore, the UK and China, it has faltered in major jurisdictions such as the EU, USA and Japan.

As global air cargo tonnages for December 2023 are expected to be up five percent year-on-year, Q4 will be the first quarter of 2023 showing positive growth (up three percent) compared to last year, coming from Q1 at -11 percent, Q2 (down eight percent) and Q3 (down three percent) despite all uncertainties in the last months. “This means that global tonnages for the full year 2023 end up being five percent lower than in 2022,” says the latest update from WorldACD Market Data. “While the first half of 2023 was down nine percent, the second half was characterised by an improving YoY performance for each consecutive month and closing at flat YoY growth.” Weekly analysisPreliminary figures for week 51 (December 18-24) show a drop of eight percent in global tonnages and a decline of six percent in average worldwide rates compared with the previous week after recovering more quickly than last year from the seasonal post-Thanksgiving dip last month. “This slide in tonnages and rates follows the typical pattern seen in the second half of December,” the update added. Comparing weeks 50 and 51 this year with the preceding two weeks (2Wo2W), overall tonnages decreased four percent, and overall global average rates were down three percent with capacity up one percent. “While volumes went down across all regions, we saw that the global decrease in average rates has mainly been driven by origin region Asia Pacific (down six percent) that recently showed a surge in rates, especially China.” On a regional level, a drop of 15 percent in tonnages was recorded on key flows ex-Asia Pacific to Europe, ex-North America to Europe and ex-Europe to Africa, the update added. “On …

Vipin Vohra, Chairman, Continental Carriers, says, “In the year 2024, we will maintain a forward-thinking approach and adapt to changing market conditions and customer expectations. We will persist in collaborating with customs at the highest echelons to hasten the deployment of customs officers at our Air Freight Station. We plan to further expand our ‘Warehousing’ vertical with ‘State of the Art’ facilities, on pan India basis. We will fortify our ties with existing clients while forging new partnerships through implementation of CRM system which will facilitate the tracking of client interactions and preferences, enabling the provision of personalized services.

Ayesha Katgara, Head – Corporate Strategy, Jeena & Company shares, “In 2024, we are brimming with optimism as we spot potential in contract logistics, warehousing & distribution, and pharma logistics. We are actively expanding our footprint in India with strategic expansions in our Coastal vertical and geographical diversification.” She adds, “2023 has been a transformative year for the ever-evolving Indian logistics landscape. The sector witnessed a rise in investment – within the country and outside. The warehousing sector experienced a boom as new facilities came up to address the need for storage. Amidst this dynamic environment, Jeena & Company explored new arenas in defense and automotive sectors. We experienced the transformative power of technology by introducing a CHA software built on AI to improve efficiency.”

Fletcher Samuel, Senior Manager – Cargo Business, Bangalore International Airport (BIAL) highlights, “The Indian air cargo industry is going through an exciting phase. With the government taking a keen interest in the sector and India’s Young Logisticians geared up to innovate and propel change, 2024 looks promising. At BLR Airport, we are further working towards consolidating our position and the brand image of BLR Cargo in the industry. Our aim is to emerge as the ‘New Gateway To India’ and BLR Cargo plans to develop a comprehensive logistics hub that will take us closer to our goal. This logistics hub will offer robust infrastructure that will cater to the burgeoning demand in the Air Cargo sector, that’s expected to witness a surge of 6 million MT by 2030. With Government of India’s National Logistics Policy aiming for a 10 Million MT growth by 2030, we at BLR Cargo are preparing and getting ready to deliver world-class experiences for all our customers and stakeholders, contributing to the dynamic growth of Air Cargo in the country.

Xerrxes Master, President, Association of Multimodal Transport Operators of India (AMTOI) says, “In 2024, the logistics industry is poised for transformative shifts driven by sustainable practices, widespread technology adoption, and accelerated digitization. The integration of eco-friendly initiatives will redefine supply chains, emphasizing sustainability. In 2024 the shipping industry will grapple with reduced demand and more supply, potentially leading to fierce competition and reduced profits and possible mergers and acquisitions. Although container schedule reliability is improving, persistent challenges will remain. Rates will remain low for the first 9 months of 2024 with the potential for growth and return with a true big shipping season in quarter four. However ongoing global disruptions such as the Israel –Palestine and Russia-Ukraine conflicts could create fluctuations in oil prices and in market rates as the year progresses.

Ramesh Mamidala, Head- Cargo, Air India, shares, “I expect the industry will go more than above average this year in proportion to the GDP of the country. I am also expecting that the concerned regulators help the industry with the growth of transshipment volumes by easing the much sought after and long-awaited regulatory changes and automation of current paper-based approval process. I also look forward to manufacturing for export friendly policies to further bolster the growth of export volumes in the country. Looking forward to further policy changes related to single bond for use of bonded trucking by airlines and revisit of GST policy for airfreight, in line with global practices.”

C K Govil, President, The Air Cargo Agents Association of India (ACAAI) shares his outlook for 2024, “After a lukewarm 2023, we are quite hopeful for 2024, expecting a growth of around 4.5% for the global air cargo industry. We saw global air cargo capacity surpass the pre-covid levels in April 2023. 2024 will give us an opportunity to be a part of India’s success story of becoming one of the global superpowers, driven by a young population, an increased demand for exceptional logistics services, and technological advancement in supply chain management with a prime focus on sustainability and efficiency in the transportation industry. Besides, I feel factors like climate change and artificial intelligence will drive many of our everyday decisions. Now, the industry needs to grab the opportunity and be part of the India’s success in becoming number two globally with the young team of population and with increased demand for logistics services potential advancement in technology for supply chain management, a focus on sustainability and efficiency in the transportation industry.”

Pranav Agarwal, Head of Supply Chain Solutions & IT at Rhenus Logistics, shares his outlook for 2024, “At Rhenus, the growth strategy for 2024 is intertwined with customer-centricity and technological innovation. Our focus has always been to provide our customers with integrated logistics services there by creating an ecosystem for suppliers, vendors, and partners. Leveraging our system integration capabilities and strong business processes, we can provide our customers with predictive analytics, real time visibility across supply chain events, purchase and indent order management systems, real time track and trace and so on. The outlook is to harness digital platforms to streamline operations and improve client interaction, ensuring seamless, transparent communication. We will also embrace cloud technologies for scalability and agility. The outlook includes fostering strategic partnerships and exploring new market segments. These steps aim to solidify Rhenus Logistics as a leader in innovative, customer-focused logistics solutions in the rapidly growing Indian market.”

SkyDrive Inc., a leading Japanese eVTOL aircraft manufacturer based in Japan has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Technology Innovation Hub on Autonomous Navigation (TiHAN) Foundation, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (“TiHAN”) to collaborate on unmanned drone technology to expand the drone market in India. With the mission of “taking the lead in the once-in-a-century mobility revolution,” SkyDrive is developing accessible eVTOL aircraft for daily passenger transportation and heavy-lift drones for cargo transportation. Indian Institutes of Technology Hyderabad (“IITH”) has been consistently ranked in the top 10 institutes in India for Engineering according to the National Institutional Ranking Framework (*2) issued by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, and top-notch engineers conduct research on cutting-edge technologies. SkyDrive will be collaborating with TiHAN, India’s first autonomous navigation testbed facility at IITH for developing and carrying out activities related to heavy-lift drones. Explaining TiHAN-IITH efforts in Autonomous Navigation, Professor P. Rajalakshmi, Project Director, said, “TiHAN IIT Hyderabad is excited to announce a strategic partnership with SkyDrive Inc. to collectively develop and execute activities about heavy lifting drone technology. This partnership marks a significant step forward in the advancement of drone capabilities, focusing on the design, development, and deployment of innovative heavy-lifting drone solutions.” India faces various challenges in its land-based logistics system and the development of drones as a new means of logistics holds significant meaning. With a shared goal of creating a market for logistics drones in India, the two parties will be sharing expertise and exploring the market opportunities. This collaboration was possible with the support of Suzuki Innovation Centre (SIC), a collaborative initiative between Suzuki Motor Corporation Japan (SMC) and IIT Hyderabad with a mission to build …