Category Archives: Aviation

InterGlobe Enterprises, and Archer Aviation Inc, electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, have entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the goal of partnering to launch and operate an all-electric air taxi service in India, subject to appropriate regulatory approvals and clearances. Rahul Bhatia, Group Managing Director of InterGlobe, and Nikhil Goel, Chief Commercial Officer of Archer, signed an MOU to form a proposed partnership through which the parties aim to provide a revolutionary transportation solution for the country, improving urban mobility with safe, sustainable, and low-noise electric air taxi service that is cost-competitive with ground transportation. The parties intend to work with select in-country business partners to operate Archer’s aircraft, finance and build vertiport infrastructure, and train pilots and other personnel needed for these operations. The partnership also plans to finance the purchase of up to 200 of Archer’s Midnight aircraft for the India operations.

The Air Cargo Agents Association of India is all set to organise its 47th annual convention in Kuala Lumpur from November 23-26. ACAAI has released agenda comprising interesting topics focused on the theme – AI the Game Changer -Embracing the Intelligent Future, and great line up of speakers who are industry stalwarts. Key topics for panel discussions include, “Tradition to Transformation- AI in Air Cargo, Cargo in the Cloud- AI reforming air freight, emerging technologies and its impact on LSPs, Navigating the future- AI powered transformation in Logistics, AI for safety, security and transparency of cargo and lot more. Stay tuned for more updates.

Global multimodal provider of air, ocean and ground services Omni Logistics has merged with Forward Air, a provider of transportation services across the US, Canada and Mexico. The definitive agreement will create a combined company that generated approximately $3.7bn of adjusted revenue for the twelve months ended June 30. The combination of Forward and Omni creates a scaled, premier, high-value, less-than-truckload (“LTL”) enterprise focused on providing customers with multimodal solutions for complex, high-service, and high-value freight needs,” said Omni Logistics. The deal will provide Forward with access to more than 7,000 customers, an increased domestic footprint, and a portfolio of essential logistics services, multimodal operations, and supply chain services.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released data for September 2023 global air cargo markets, showing continuing demand recovery. Global demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs*), increased by 1.9% compared to September 2022 levels (+6% for international operations). Capacity, measured in available cargo tonne-kilometers (ACTKs), was up 12.1% compared to September 2022 (+0% for international operations). Growth was largely related to international belly capacity which rose 31.5% year-on-year as airlines scaled up operations to meet peak-northern summer travel season demand.

Turkish Airlines has plans to expand its freighter fleet over the coming five to 10 year period. At the ongoing Tiaca Executive Summit hosted by Brussels Airport, Turkish Airlines chief cargo officer Turhan Özen said the carrier had ambitious plans for its passenger fleet and in line with this is also planning to expand its freighter fleet. The carrier is hoping to expand its current overall fleet from around 429 currently to more than 800 in 10 years’ time. On freighters, Özen said that over the next “five years plus” the freighter fleet would expand from its current 24 aircraft to 40 aircraft. Turkish Airlines has been working on an order for 400 narrowbodies and 200 widebodies in order to meet these ambitions. The airline had initially hoped to finalise that deal this summer, but completion has been complicated by challenges securing delivery slots at Airbus and Boeing and current engine supply issues, reports FlightGlobal.

GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo (GHAC), announced the launch of an import courier terminal to facilitate faster processing and import clearance of courier import cargo. Spread across 300 sqm, the 24×7 import handling facility is located at GHAC terminal premises. The facility is well equipped with world-class security screening and state- of-the- art cargo handling systems. It has dedicated officials and custom officers to ensure a seamless process, custom clearance, and quicker turnaround of courier import consignments. Speaking on this achievement Mr Pradeep Panicker, CEO, GHIAL said, “We drive our business with an unwavering commitment to growth and excellence. This new facility is a testament to our belief in providing world-class logistic solutions to our customers. It will not only accelerate and improve our services but will drive our cargo business forward with a competitive edge in the industry and enhance air cargo services globally.” GMR Hyderabad Air Cargo (GHAC) currently handles over 120 MT per month of export courier. With the addition of the new facility, it is expected to handle a larger volume of cargo, reaching 150 MT per month of import courier. This will help the shipment of key commodities such as documents, readymade garments, samples, household goods, and engineering goods that can be imported in large volumes across the region.

Safari Express Cargo has partnered with Cargo Flash Infotech to enhance its cargo management capabilities. Through this strategic collaboration, Safari Express Cargo Ltd. aims to avail the comprehensive Octogen’s package, a cutting-edge cargo management system designed to optimize operations and provide a seamless experience for its customers. As per the recent agreement, Cargo Flash will deliver the Octogen’s CMS broadly classified into the Reservation, Operation and alongside some significant add-ons. The Package includes Customer Management, Cargo booking & operation, Rating Management, Schedule Management, Capacity Management, Stock Management, EDI and Tracking. The recently introduced “Octogen” is a modular-based Cargo Management System catering to the entire Air Cargo domain, globally, especially the Airlines. Octogen allows the customer to choose from the list of modules that are required as per their business needs and pay only for the processes, which they pick for implementation. Through Octogen, Cargo Flash will allow Safari Express Cargo Ltd. to scale up its cargo sales & operation whilst enlarging its network furthermore. We are excited about our collaboration with Cargo Flash Infotech,” says Moses Nzomo, Account Manager Safari Express Cargo Ltd. By adopting the Octogen’s advanced tools and modules, we are committed to elevating our cargo management services to new heights. This partnership aligns with our vision of staying at the forefront of innovation and providing our customers with a seamless cargo experience.”

aircraft charter broker Air Charter Service (ACS) announced that it had made good progress on its plans to expand in Australia, having increased its team size by half this year. Moreover, ACS said, the company’s Sydney office is preparing for further growth by moving into a much larger space. Paul Crook, chief executive in ACS’s Sydney office, reported: “Last year was our best year in terms of charter numbers and our revenue was almost double that of the previous year. “This year has proved just as strong, being on course for similar results to last,” he continued. “Off the back of 2022 we have hugely expanded the team this year, to keep up with the demand in the region. This has, however, meant that we outgrew our old office. “This new office gives us the room to fulfil our growth plans for the foreseeable future and is ideally situated in King Street, in the central business district of Sydney.” Crook describes this as “an exciting time for ACS Australia, as we look to further our success and grow our teams here in Sydney and in our other office in Brisbane”.

Adani Group’s flagship Mundra Port has set another record by handling 16.1 million tonnes of cargo in October, the highest-ever volume by any port in India, the conglomerate said in a release. It is the largest port in the country with 102 MMT of cargo handled so far this year with a good 9 per cent year-on-year growth. The port crossed the 100 MMT mark in 210 days, surpassing the record of 231 days last year. Mundra witnessed double-digit growth on a YoY basis for containers and liquids and gas, the press release issued Sunday said. Further, it achieved another milestone of handling 4.2 million twenty-foot equivalents (TEUs) of containers in just 203 days, a feat achieved in 225 days in the previous financial year. It added new cargo types such as Hydrolysis Pi Gas (HPG) to its portfolio. So far in 2023, it docked over 2,480 ships and serviced over 11,500 rakes.

Lufthansa Cargo has launched a new high-speed service for cargo shipments called, td.Zoom. This service offers the carrier’s fastest transport times, with ramp supervision during aircraft loading and unloading, dedicated ramp transfer from the warehouse to the aircraft and vice versa as well as tail-to-tail transfer on demand at its hubs in Frankfurt, Zurich and Munich, says release. “The offer also includes 24/7 personal td.Zoom Customer Service, that proactively monitors and steers every shipment and takes immediate action to prevent irregularities,” the carrier added. The service is in addition to Lufthansa Cargo’s existing priority services td.Pro and td.Flash. Chief executive Ashwin Bhat said that a shipment from Shanghai via Frankfurt to Zurich usually takes 45 hours with td.Pro and 35 hours with td.Flash but this will be reduced to 23 hours with td.Zoom. “td.Zoom is the fastest choice with top priorities, the shortest transit times and a personal td.Zoom Customer Service,” he said. “Optimal customer service means creating the right offering for every need. With td.Pro, td.Flash and td.Zoom, we now have a comprehensive choice in terms of speed of transport, allowing our customers to choose a price-performance ratio that meets their individual needs.”