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4

Freighters to be auctioned off

CARGO LEADS STRONG FIRST HALF FOR ACS

SuppORTING THE mOvE TO EAwb uSE IN SAuDI

RECORD GROwTH AT muNICH IN FIRST HALF OF 2015

LOT AND jALSIGN CARGOAGREEmENT

The weekly newspaper for air cargo professionals

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9

12

FORMER freighter carrier Jade Cargo In-ternational will auction off three Boeing 747-400 Freighters on 26 October, ac-cording to reports in China.

The World Civil Aviation Resource Net says this follows an announcement by the Shenzhen Jiajintai Auction on 9 September.

Jade Cargo will reportedly start the bidding at 1.32 billion yuan ($207 mil-lion) for the three 747-400Fs.

The carrier was set up in October 2004 as a joint venture between Shenzhen Airlines (51 per cent), Lufthansa (25 per cent) and German development fi-nance institute DEG (24 per cent). It was based at Shenzhen Bao’an Internation-al Airport.

But on 4 June 2012, the closure of Jade Cargo was announced due to financial difficulties and liquidation pro-ceedings began on 4 June 2012.

Jade Cargo operated its last flight on 25 December 2011 and its fleet was grounded on 31 December 2011.

The carrier did sign a letter of intent with UniTop on its restructuring in Feb-ruary 2012, but UniTop withdrew in May 2012.

Lufthansa Cargo has helped the German Red Cross cope with the influx of refugees by flying more than 15,000 camp beds from North Amer-ica to Germany.

On 15 September, a Lufthansa Boeing 747-8 Freighter from Washington DC landed at Frankfurt stocked with 1,000 camp beds. The remaining beds were divided over 12 flights, which were transported to Frankfurt in the days preceding.

The carrier says it undertook the transport at cost price and the volume of cargo amounted to nearly 120 tonnes, divided between 271 pallets.

Lufthansa Cargo says the beds were des-perately needed by refugees who are being looked after by the German Red Cross in emer-gency accommodation and were provided by

the Canadian Red Cross and American Red Cross. Camp beds were urgently needed in Ger-many because all available beds in Europe are already occupied.

Lufthansa Cargo chief executive officer and chairman of the executive board, Peter Gerber, says: “We are very happy to be able to make a small contribution to the valuable work of the German Red Cross. Fast and uncomplicated help is called for in situations such as we are experiencing at the moment. It was only thanks to air transport that within a few days we man-aged to bring more than 15,000 camp beds to where they were so urgently needed.”

German Red Cross general secretary, Chris-tian Reuter, explains the charity are attending more than 288 emergency accommodations for

approximately 82,000 refugees in Germany. “In addition, we will support the federal

government with the provision of further shel-ters for refugees. In order to carry this out, rapid logistics solutions, such as we are able to implement now with Lufthansa Cargo, are indispensable,” adds Reuter.

Asia Pacific uncertain but seasonal boost set to come

The outlook for cargo in Asia Pacific is “uncertain” due to global economic instability but there is likely to be a seasonal

uplift during the rest of 2015, according to the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA).

In the association’s monthly report, it says airlines have seen their third month of year-on-year (YOY) declines in August, with a 0.3 per cent dip in freight tonne kilome-tres (FTK).

In August, carriers across the region saw FTKs fall to just under 5.3 billion, compared to just over 5.3 billion in the same month of 2014. Asia Pacific airlines saw YOY falls in June of 0.5 per cent to 5.3 billion, and of 2.2 per cent in July to 5.3 billion.

Between January and August, FTKs have increased by three per cent to 42.6 billion.

AAPA director general, Andrew Herdman, (pictured) says: “Air cargo markets remain weak, reflecting a further slowdown in world trade in recent months. Overall, how-ever, after accounting for the initial growth spurt earlier this year, air cargo demand has still registered a three per cent increase for the first eight months this year.”

The region’s airlines had had a strong start to 2015, with a YOY increase in January of seven per cent to 5.1 billion, due to consumer demand in Europe and the Americas, as well as the timing of Chinese New Year. February surged by 20.5 per cent to 4.8 billion FTK due to strong demand for Asian exports and indus-trial action at US West coast seaports.

Growth slowed as the West coast seaport industrial action cleared, with March seeing a YOY increase of 1.7 per cent to 5.9 billion. April saw a bigger increase, up 3.7 per cent YOY to 5.3 billion, followed by YOY growth in May of 2.9 per cent to 5.4 billion before volumes started falling from June onwards.

For the rest of 2015, Herdman says though the passenger industry is looking strong, cargo is less positive. “The outlook for air cargo markets is more uncertain, given signs of weak-ness in global trade activities, but should see some seasonal demand as we move towards the end of the year.”

In August, capacity in available freight tonne kilometres (AFTK) rose by 3.3 per cent YOY to 8.8 bil-lion, one of the lowest increases of the year. The biggest rise of the year came in February, rising by 12.6 per cent to 7.4 billion, to cope with extra demand due to the seaport strike. It was followed by the smallest YOY

surge in capacity in March, when AFTK rose by 2.4 per cent to 8.6 bil-lion. In 2015, AFTK has risen by 4.3 per cent to 67.1 billion.

The load factor in August fell by 2.2 percentage points to 61 per cent. So far this year the load factor has fallen by 0.8 percentage points to 63.5 per cent.

Asian carriers have been joining forces with other cargo airlines to boost their networks and opportuni-ties. China Southern Cargo will link up with Air France KLM Martinair Cargo from 1 November and last week Japanese Airlines Cargo and LOT Cargo announced a partnership (see page 12).

bed refugee shortage in Germany aided by Lufthansa Cargo

Volume: 18 Issue: 38 28 September 2015

NEWSWEEK

F edEx has seen its net income increase in the first fiscal quarter of 2016 to $692 million from $653 million because of improvements in

the Express department.The first quarter result was the highest

seen since the fourth quarter of the 2014 fiscal year, when profit was $730 million. Throughout the 2015 fiscal year, FedEx made a profit of $653 million in the first quarter, followed by $663 million and $628 million in the second and third peri-ods. In the fourth quarter FedEx made a loss of $895 million.

FedEx chairman, chief executive officer (CEO) and president, Frederick Smith, says: “FedEx is performing solidly given the weaker than expected economic con-ditions, especially in manufacturing and global trade.”

Smith continues: “Our profit improve-

ment programme is on track and delivering impressive results, and I am very confident FedEx is well positioned to deliver value for shareowners, customers and team members in fiscal 2016 and beyond.”

Express operating income increased to $545 million, up from $377 million in the same period of last year helped by favour-able currency exchange rates reducing international expenses.

Revenue increased to $12.3 billion in

the first quarter of this year compared to $11.7 billion in the same period of fiscal 2015. The Express revenue fell by four per cent from $6.8 billion to $6.6 billion due to lower fuel surcharges and unfavourable exchange rates. FedEx’s freight revenue remained the same at $1.6 billion due to weak industry demand.

In July, FedEx Express announced its intention to buy an additional 50 Boe-ing 767-300 Freighters, to be delivered between 2018 and 2023, with the option for 50 more. FedEx has 106 orders for 767Fs. FedEx Express president and CEO, David Bronczek said at the time, the fleet modernisation programme will enable it to reduce structural costs, improve fuel efficiency and enhance reliability.

In April, FedEx submitted a bid of 4.4 billion euros ($4.8 billion) for courier delivery firm TNT Express.

2

Income soars $39 million for FedEx in Q1

RUSLAN INTERNATIONAL has transported Rolls-Royce’s new Trent XWB-97 engine from East Midlands Airport to the Airbus testing facility in Toulouse (France).

This is the highest-thrust production engine the manu-facturer has ever made in the UK for its South West France base, where it will undergo extensive testing.

Ruslan used an Antonov AN-124 heavylift aircraft, which was needed given the sheer size and scale of the load.

The company says the job was urgent due to the tight production schedules involved and the need to transport the engine over road from Toulouse Airport to Airbus during restricted times. This it says added a layer of com-plexity to the operation.

The Trent XWB-97 engine being transported is the first of its kind that will actually take flight, on an Airbus A380 flying test bed.

Rolls-Royce engine job for Ruslan

Volumes flat in Asia Pacific

FREIGHT volumes in Asia Pacific remained flat in July and the Middle East fell by 0.9 per cent in the same month, accord-ing to Airports Council International (ACI) Asia Pacific.

ACI Asia Pacific says Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA), the largest freight airport in the region, saw a 1.9 per cent decline in July. HKIA saw volumes fall in July to 363,000 tonnes, which it blamed on a fall in transhipments and weak-ness in China, Taiwan and Europe.

Shanghai Pudong International Airport saw a fall of 0.7 per cent in July. The airport itself does not have any figures available, but the handling agent; Shanghai Pudong Interna-tional Airport Cargo Terminal says it saw volumes increase by 7.3 per cent to 139,095 tonnes.

ACI Asia Pacific says Dubai as a whole has seen cargo in-crease by 3.4 per cent. Al Maktoum International at Dubai World Central (pictured) volumes increased by 42 per cent to 443,012 tonnes because of freighter operations moving there from Dubai International Airport. Dubai International saw volumes rise by eight per cent in July to 205,526 tonnes.

ACW 28 SEPTEMBER 2015

NEWSWEEK

3ACW 28 SEPTEMBER 2015

Cargo yields have held up relative to oil prices, but lower load factors and aircraft utilisation may compromise profitability, says the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA)

quarterly Cargo Market Analysis.The report also explains modest gains in

global economic growth are expected in 2015, but vulnerabilities in emerging markets pres-ent downside risks.

IATA also notes reduced freighter aircraft utilisation and plunging load factors are indica-tions of underlying demand weakness.

Airfreight has expanded year-to-date (YTD) after the first seven months of the year com-pared to the same YTD period in 2014, fuelled by recovery in advanced markets such as the US. Airfreight traffic has grown by 3.2 per cent in 2015 compared to the same period in 2014. But in July volumes decreased year-on-year (YOY) by 0.6 per cent compared to a year ago,

which IATA says raises concerns.“In advanced economies the upturn has con-

tinued but at a weaker pace than expected. The US is healthy with solid gross domestic product growth and unemployment levels at seven year lows, further supporting assertions that weak quarter one performance is explained by severe weather rather than underlying weakness,” IATA says.

The association says a timid expansion in the Eurozone, is aided by a continuation of accommodative monetary policy and loose bank lending standards. Convulsions in major emerging markets, with the exception of India, have dampened performance along with reces-sions in Brazil and Russia and a deceleration in China.

IATA also says freight load factors have dete-riorated YOY by 3.2 percentage points in the first seven months of 2015, while yield perfor-mance has varied significantly by trade lane, direction and the service type.

“Falling yields in 2015 will be less harmful to profitability as fuel prices have abated. Netting out the relative changes between the price of fuel and yields reveals we may see improved air cargo profitability. However, reduced aircraft utilisation and lower freight load factors may increase unit cost and dilute profitability,” IATA concludes.

Airfreight volumes up in 2015, but market vulnerabilities remain

AEROFLOT GROUP has seen cargo volumes increase by 9.5 per cent in August to 14,059 tonnes, with international tonnage showing a large year-on-year (YOY) increase but a domestic fall.

In August international volumes increased by 23.5 per cent to 7,030 tonnes but domestic cargo fell by 1.7 per cent to 7,029 tonnes. Aeroflot Group had a weak start to 2015, with YOY falls in January, February and March, but since then it has seen increases in every month. Year-to-date cargo volumes have increased by 1.6 per cent to 103,229 tonnes, with international tonnage rising by 3.3 per cent to 53,702 tonnes but it saw a domestic dip of 0.2 per cent to 49,527 tonnes.

The load factor in August fell by 0.4 percentage points in August to 69.3 per cent, with it falling by 2.7 percentage points domestically to 70 per cent. In August the interna-tional load factor increased by 0.8 percentage points to 68.6 per cent.In the first half of 2015, Aeroflot made a loss of 3.5 billion roubles ($53 million). Revenue increased by 25.8 per cent to 140.3 billion roubles and cargo revenue was up by 16.3 per cent to 4.4 billion roubles because of stronger yields.

Positive results for Aeroflot

WorldNewsUK freight forwarder the Woodland Group has opened a 155,000 square feet centre at its Chelmsford, Essex headquarters, which is the main depot from where it serves customers.The investment has been made to satis-fy client demand for third party logistics services. Cargo handled can be dis-patched by pallet throughout Woodland’s national and international network.

Oman Air has chosen Cargologic as its freight handling agent at Zurich Airport.As of 1 October 2015, Cargologic will be responsible for freight handling for the five weekly Airbus A330 flights from Zurich to Muscat International Airport.Cargologic expects the volume of freight handled to be around five tonnes in and out per flight, which is around 200 tonnes per month.

System upgrade for SkyteamSKYTEAM CARGO has upgraded its online Track and Trace tool, which it says will allow users to track shipments at every stage of the way across the network.

The alliance says the system will tell customers the lat-est status of shipments with any of the 12 members by entering their air waybill number on the skyteamcargo.com homepage. SkyTeam says the upgrade comes from its cen-tralised IT system, SkyLink, a common operating platform to give members a single system, eliminating the need for ad-hoc IT links between members.

SkyTeam Cargo vice president, Eric Hartmann, says: “Our customers expect efficient, prompt handling of freight and whether its pharmaceuticals to Sao Paolo or flowers to Moscow, Track and Trace helps us deliver a seamless, efficient service, by keeping them updated in real-time.”

The 12 alliance members are Aeroflot, Aerolineas Cargo, AeroMexico Cargo, Air France Cargo, Alitalia Cargo, China Airlines, China Cargo Airlines, China South-ern Cargo, Czech Airlines Cargo, Delta Cargo, KLM Cargo and Korean Air Cargo.

NEWSWEEK

4 ACW 28 SEPTEMBER 2015

Cargo leads strong first half for ACSAIR CHARTER SERVICE (ACS) has posted a strong set of results for the first half of 2015, and says cargo was especially bouyant.

The aircraft charter specialist says that during the six months ending 31 July, busi-ness increased by 41 per cent.

ACS chairman Chris Leach, (pictured below) explains: “The overall increase in revenue, charters and profit is extremely pleasing. The strong figures have been even-ly spread around the world. The only region in which we didn’t see growth was Russia, so results would have been even better if it were not for the current troubles there.

“We are pleased to see the continued recovery of the cargo charter market after two years of virtual stagnation. Our cargo department in particular has had a booming first half of the year, seeing a 60 per cent increase.”

Leach says ACS has carried out some re-structuring in its group charter division by cutting out an unprofitable revenue stream and focusing on other markets. “This has

reaped rewards with an increase of 36 per cent,” Leach notes.

The company remains debt free with a strong bal-ance sheet and bank funds of

£11.7 million ($17.8 million) worldwide at the end of the half year, up from £8.8 mil-lion last year, a 33 per cent increase, Leach says.

“These figures do not include deposits from our Lindbergh Card customers, as we hold these in separate bank accounts on be-half of our clients which are not mixed with our own trading funds.” he adds.

Leach explains overall profits have more than doubled year-on-year, a large amount of which it has reinvested in global infra-structure such as revamped websites and the opening of new offices such as Geneva (Switzerland) in May - with two more planned in the coming six months, to take the total globally to 20.

“We are also diversifying our service offer-ings with our new on board courier division, aircraft sales division and Air Evacuation Plan department, all of which complement our existing revenue streams,” Leach adds.

AIR PARTNER has seen profit rise to £1.4 mil-lion ($2.1 million) its first half of 2015 from just under £1.4 million in the same period of last year.

The freight division reported an operating profit of £0.4 million compared to breaking even in the same six months of last year.

Air Partner says the freight business saw strong growth in the UK, US and Germany, though says it started from a low base.

The company says the Red Track online order confirmation and tracking technology also helped business.

Air Partner chief executive officer, Mark Briffa (pictured), says: “This has been an encouraging first half performance and the board remains confident that its full year expectations for the enlarged Air Partner group can be achieved.”

Speaking about the freight division, Briffa says: “Following its improved performance in the second half of last year, it has been pleasing to see our freight making continued progress in this period … compared to a break-even last year.”

During the first half of 2015, revenue increased to £22.1 million from £18.8 million in the same period of 2014.

For 2014 as a whole, Air Part-ner’s revenue reached £37.5 mil-lion, with a profit of £2.7 million and the freight division made just under £0.4 million.

Profit increase for Air Partner

Freighter repair go ahead for AMTES

AMTES has been issued with Part 145 (AR-145) certification from Russia’s civil aviation body, the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC), to carry out repair and maintenance of Antonov AN-124 Freighters at Leipzig-Halle Airport.

The AR-145 certificate sets out require-ments for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) and will allow ATMES, a subsidiary of

Volga-Dnepr Technics, to carry out work at its 8,500 square metre Leipzig-Halle hang-er. ATMES was issued the certificate at the MAKS 2015 Air Show in Moscow by IAC manager, Sergey Instrumentov (pictured in the middle) to ATMES managing director, Ildar Ilyasov (pictured right).

Ilyasov says: “We decided to obtain MRO Organisation Certificate to extend our Rus-sian built aircraft maintenance and repair capabilities. This is a solid step forward for Volga-Dnepr Group within the project AN-124 modernisation.”

He says Volga-Dnepr is planning to extend the certificate on other types of work in ac-cordance with AR-145. Ilyasov says: “We plan to increase the amount of operations in relation to both Russian and Western aircraft and extend our maintenance capa-bilities in the European market.”

NEWSWEEK

5 ACW 28 september 2015

C arriers across the globe continue to develop their bellyhold cargo route networks announcing new services in the last week.

In Asia, Hainan Airlines has announced plans to begin a non-stop service from Tel Aviv International Airport to Beijing Inter-national Airport on 28 April 2016 using an Airbus A330 three days a week.

The Chinese carrier says the route comple-ments existing domestic non-stop connections to Beijing and other major cities in China, such as Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

United Airlines has applied to the US depart-ment of transportation for authority to begin a seasonal non-stop service between the air-line’s San Francisco hub and Xi’an (China). If approved, this will be the first trans-Pacific ser-vice to Xi’an operated by any carrier, and United will be the first US airline to serve the city.

United intends to use a Boeing 787 Dream-liner on the route, operating a three weekly service between 8 May and 27 October 2016.

In South East Asia, Philippine Airlines has boosted services between Manila and Sydney (Australia) by shifting to daily flights from the present five weekly frequencies.

In the spring of 2016, Ukraine International Airlines will increase the flight frequency between Lviv (Ukraine) and Bologna (Italy) with up to two non-stop weekly scheduled flights. From 28 April 2016, it will launch a weekly service from Lviv to Bologna increasing the frequency to two weekly flights starting 20 June. The carrier says it has had to postpone the launch of non-stop flights between Kiev and Ashgabat scheduled to be operated starting 21 September 2015.

In Africa, Ethiopian Airlines (pictured), is to start new services on 25 October this year to Yaoundé into Nsimalen International Airport. The capital of Cameroon, Yaoundé, is the second largest city in the country after the port city of Doula. The service will operate four times a week via Addis Ababa.

Ethiopian Airlines Group chief executive officer, Ato Tewolde Gebremariam, says it will facilitate trade, investment and tourism move-ment between the countries and continent.

In North America, Delta Air Lines will from 15 December this year operate a new daily non-stop service between Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Edmonton Inter-national Airport in Canada.

ROAD feeder service firm Jan de Rijk Logistics has snapped up specialist temperature controlled pharmaceutical distribution firm Omega Logistics.

Omega’s has an extensive distribution network to pharmacies, hospitals, patients and other healthcare facilities.

Jan de Rijk says the acquisition “strength-ens the already strong position it has in the distribution of high value temperature con-trolled products”.

In the last few years Omega, has grown significantly in the healthcare logistics, ex-plains Jan de Rijk chief executive officer, Sebastiaan Scholte.

He adds Omega has an excellent reputa-tion in the pharma market and the addition will help it bring “more focus, dedication and growth in this important market”.

Jan de Rijk buys pharma specialist

eAWB partnership launchedCHAMP FORWARDING SYSTEMS and CONNECTA have launched a strategic partnership to help CONNECTA’s small and medium sized freight forwarders speed up electronic air waybill (eAWB) penetration.

CHAMP Forwarding Systems, a subsid-iary of CHAMP Cargosystems, says the partnership will help CONNECTA members participate in International Air Transport Association (IATA) eAWB and e-freight ini-tiatives more easily. CONNECTA members will receive access to the eAWB network, Traxon CargoHUB, connected to over 100 airlines. CONNECTA members will also be able to upgrade their CHAMP Logitude soft-ware subscription.

CHAMP Forwarding Systems vice president of eCargo services, Nicholas Xenocostas says: “CONNECTA’s service offering and our Logitude platform are a perfect match: Not only will small and medium sized forwarding agents enhance their competitiveness, they will also reduce costs, time, and errors and contribute to IATA’s eAWB targets by easily adopting eAWBs without the need of expen-sive and time consuming IT installations.”

CONNECTA network manager, Sarah Bid-mead says members will benefit from an extremely easy to use cloud-based platform that allows them to run their day-to-day forwarding operations, submit eAWBs and take part in IATA initiatives.

Hainan launches Tel Aviv bellyhold route

ACW 28 SEPTEMBER 2015 6

S audi Airlines Cargo (Saudia Cargo) celebrated the inaugural flight of its new Boeing 747-400 Freighter connection to New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport

(JFK) on 4 September.The scheduled weekly service operates to

Jeddah before continuing on to King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh.

Saudia Cargo’s acting vice president for commercial, Rainer Mueller, explains this will “enhance the activity of air cargo operations to and from the US conducted through the capac-ities available for the seven weekly passenger and freighter flights scheduled to Washington DC as well as New York and Los Angeles.”

“With a population of 30 million, the largest in the Middle East, traditionally Saudi Airlines Cargo has focused on moving consumer, phar-maceuticals, perishable and manufacturing

goods into the Kingdom,” Saudi Cargo’s regional director for the Americas, Werner Knapp, tells Air Cargo Week (ACW). “With our improved transit cargo infrastructure we are successfully winning business to points beyond Jeddah and, for the JFK freighter, we are focusing on having

40 per cent of the cargo flown in from the US transiting beyond Jeddah, mainly to Africa and the Middle East.

“To the States, it’s a different story. Almost all the cargo is transiting Jeddah into the US, primarily coming from the standard US import origins such as China, India and the subconti-nent (Indian),” Knapp adds.

As for cargo load types Knapp says: “Out of the US, we’re looking at a broad range of cargo, from manufacturing equipment, some related to the oil and gas industry, to building supplies and parts, pharma shipments and perishable food-stuffs. Into the States, it’s primarily textiles but we are also moving pharma and electronics.”

Knapp explains to ACW that considering the carrier started the service the Friday before

US Labor Day and the Hajj pilgrimage has just started, it is seeing very good demand both into and out of the US. Knapp adds: “As we move into the fourth quarter of 2015, I expect cargo vol-umes to grow further. This year, the market both into and out of the US has been good, particu-larly when compared to downturns elsewhere. I’m optimistic that we will continue to see cargo growth in and out of the US.”

Saudia is also flying Boeing 777 widebody bellyhold space out of the US and Canada. These include daily services from JFK and Washing-ton Dulles International Airport; on some days the flights operate direct to Jeddah, on other days direct to Riyadh.

The carrier operates flights from Los Angeles International Airport to Jeddah three times a week and into Canada from Toronto Pearson International Airport to Jeddah at the same frequency.

All this capacity will benefit from the growth in demand for cargo space linking Saudi Arabia with the Americas, Knapp predicts: “The Middle East will continue to become the main cargo connecting point to the world.”

Knapp finishes: “Saudi Airlines is a conserva-tive carrier, carefully selecting where we expand - we do not do so indiscriminately, but as the importance of the region grows and cargo con-necting through it makes it a vital gateway to the world.

“I believe we are uniquely placed to compete and take advantage and we will become one of the dominant cargo players.”

Saudia’s new freighter into JFK driving US businessSAUDI ARABIA

Broad cargo range

In April this year, Jeddah freight forwarder Express Forwarding Services (EFS) sent the first electronic air waybill (eAWB) shipment on an Air France-KLM-Martinair (AF-KL-MP) Cargo flight out of Saudi Arabia.The shipment was flown from King Abdulaziz International Airport to Piarco Internation-al Airport in Trinidad & Tobago.

EFS’s commercial manager, Nadir Kala-papdan, says the shipment represented an important milestone for the industry. “It is vital to adapt to changing technology to be more efficient and productive,” he notes. “Airlines and freight forwarders have a great responsibility to make this concept a suc-cess and to increase the adoptability rate.”

EFS is a long-time user of the Worldwide Information Network (WIN) IT connectivity platform, and John DeBenedette (pictured), WIN’s managing director, explains: “We are delighted to once again see an independent forwarder participating in, and, in fact, lead-ing the e-freight transformation in air cargo, which is the whole point of WIN.”

Speaking to Air Cargo Week, he observes: “Airlines do most of the work (but) EFS par-

ticipated in carrier-led workshops and it has jumped on board as soon as an airline be-gins promoting e-processes. In fact, EFS had handled the first-ever eAWB excluding Saudi Arabia, also using WIN, on Saudia Cargo a year earlier. So, with their track record and regular use of WIN, when AF-KL-MP invited eAWBs, EFS was ready on the spot.”

DeBenedette continues: “e-freight is important everywhere but it is so nice to see the carriers operating in the Kingdom working with customs and customers to drive this ahead. When cargo agents use eAWBs, the paper handling and the risks of lost documents or data entry errors are eliminated. The export process is therefore stream-lined and the cargo can get through the warehouse and be loaded faster. That makes air exports from Saudi Arabia more efficient and cost-effective.”

Supporting the move to eAWB use in Saudi

Air France KLM Martinair (AF-KL-MP) Cargo says one of its priorities in Saudi Arabia is sending out electronic air waybill (eAWB) shipments.

AF-KL-MP project manager for the Middle East, Gulf and Indian Subcontinent, Sophie Duret (pictured), explains to Air Cargo Week: “Increas-ing eAWB usage into the Middle East is one of

the priorities of our global strategy. AF-KL-MP has a dedicated e-freight expert for the MEGIS (Middle East, Gulf & Indian Subcon-tinent) market, working with the International Air Transport Association to improve the eAWB usage in the region.

“Unit Arab Emirates and Qatar were where we were able to develop eAWB usage most sig-nificantly, from 74 to 88 per cent penetration by June this year. And our main focus now is Saudi Arabia. In order to boost eAWB usage in the King-dom, the strategy is to work on a joint plan with our key accounts. After a roll-out period for the testing and improvement of the quality of mes-saging, we will focus on smaller local players.

“AF-KL-MP Cargo still has some room to improve in the region for our customers’ eAWB adoption,” she admits, but adds, “We believe that Saudi Arabia has a good driving force to pull its Middle Eastern neighbours in the right direction of increasing eAWB usage.”

AF-KL-MP has two stations - one in Riyadh,

the capital, and one in Dammam, in the east. Air France flies to the former four times a week from Paris, while KLM operates to Dammam from Amsterdam three times a week.

“We are able to carry 12-13 tonnes of cargo on our Riyadh flight and 14-15 tonnes on the Dam-mam flight,” Duret notes. “Saudi Arabia is mainly an import market for consumer goods, oil and gas, aerospace and industrial goods, but pharma products and fresh products are also carried. For exports, we are mainly carrying some local products to Gulf Cooperation Council coun-tries, but also some personal effects to Africa and the Indian subcontinent. Dates also represent important traffic from Dammam.”

The carrier expects the same capacity to Dam-mam through the winter 2015-16 programme until March 2016. The Riyadh capacity will be adjusted downward during the winter.

Imports into Saudi Arabia from the Far East, have picked up of late, in the form of consumer goods to oilfield equipment, Duret says. The Saudi Arabian airfreight sector is being boosted by the strength of the country’s transport infra-structure development and other project cargo traffic being flown in. But it is also now a more competitive marketplace, Duret points out.

Driving force

AF-KL-MP Cargo prioritises the Kingdom

7ACW 28 septembeR 2015

SAUDI ARABIA

Daily flights boost IAGIAG CARGO’s Saudi Arabia connections are benefitting from the carrier’s network reach through daily flights to Jeddah and Riyadh from Heathrow Airport.The carrier’s regional commercial manager, for the Middle East and Africa Lotte Van Rooij, says the twice-daily wide-body connections provide and “excellent lift” which connects onto European and transatlantic flights.

IAG is primarily moving perishables and pharmaceuticals into the Kingdom, while there is also a substantial outbound flow of personal effects as well as a wide range of general freight prior to Ramadan.

Van Rooij notes strong demand for cargo capacity to North America, as well as growing demand for cargo space to Eu-rope (particularly on IAG Cargo’s Euroconnector service).

Growing demand for pharma in Saudi Arabia is a feature of the return legs, with North America representing by the largest market for Saudi-bound cargo onboard services. Live animals are a growing shipment type, flying out of the UK and Ireland. The Saudi airfreight business “largely reflects wider market patterns”, Van Rooij says, but notes the King-dom has “benefited from several new IAG destinations in North and South California, and in Austin, Texas”.

SAUDI Arabia forms a key part of the Dubai-based Emirates Airline’s network, and also represents an important link for its cargo wing, Emirates SkyCargo.

Emirates operates flights to four destinations in the King-dom. Dammam is served by 21 weekly bellyhold flights and one weekly freighter service; Jeddah is linked by 17 belly-hold flights a week; Medina is connected through a daily bellyhold operation; and Riyadh by double-daily flights.Imports include fruits and vegetables from India, South Af-rica and Lebanon, meat from Pakistan, Australia, and India, courier products and equipment leaving the Unit Arab Emir-ates (UAE). Exports from Saudi Arabia are mainly personal effects and household goods shipped to India, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Ethiopia.Emirates’ vice president cargo commercial for the Mid-dle East, Gulf Cooperation Council and Iran, Khalid Mohd Al Hinai, says: “Nearly three-quarters of the volumes from the UAE are shipped to Saudi Arabia. Feeder origins include Lebanon, Iran and Jordan. Saudi Arabia is a strong export market, with a wide spread of destinations including western Asia and the Indian Ocean and South-east Asian regions.”

Saudi key for Emirates

ACW 28 SEPTEMBER 2015 8

T he operator of Frankfurt Airport (pictured), Fraport, has reorganised its structure and established a new department called the Cargo Devel-opment and Management - in a bid to

strengthen its freight business at Europe’s busi-est cargo hub by volumes.

Dirk Schusdziara, who has worked for Fraport for almost 20 years, has assumed management of the new unit, which came into being on 1 Sep-tember 2015.

According to Fraport’s vice president of cargo and logistics, Felix Kreutel, these are busy times at the airport, and infrastructure has been ear-marked as a priority.

“We improved the access into our cargo area by expanding the existing road into a four-lane street. Furthermore, we opened a new truck parking that resulted in less traffic conges-tion and offers more than 70 parking spaces,

equipped with restrooms and showers”, he tells Air Cargo Week.

Frankfurt has also benefited from a vacuum cooler that was added to the Perishables Cen-tre at the end of 2014. A value storage room has been set up, with high-security areas for the loading and unloading of trucks and the con-signment and consolidation of goods.

The airport’s Fair@Link cargo community system went into regular operation at the start of the year, allowing users to exchange informa-tion in a standardised format across corporate boundaries.

Frankfurt Airport has seen a number of new routes open within recent months. Emirates Airlines is now flying to Los Angeles (US),

Uzbekistan Airways is now servicing Navoiy (Uzbekistan), AeroLogic is flying to Ashgabat, and Lufthansa to Stavanger (Norway) and Tunis. Air China is offering additional frequen-cies to China, while AirBridgeCargo has added extra services to Moscow, Kreutel reports.

Later this year, work on a major develop-ment will begin at Frankfurt’s Terminal 3. It is expected to become operational in 2022.

Frankfurt Airport saw cargo volumes fall year-on-year (YOY) by 4.2 per cent in August to 172,055 tonnes put down to a slowdown in world trade, particularly in the Far East.

Throughout 2015, Frankfurt has only YOY cargo volume increases in February, when it rose by 1.8 per cent to 162,068 tonnes, and in April, when it was up by 0.8 per cent to 173,274 tonnes.

Cargo volumes have fallen by 2.2 per cent year-to-date to 1.4 million tonnes.

Frankfurt airfreight operations restructuredEUROPEAN AIRPORTS

MILAN MALPENSA AIRPORT is seeing con-tinuous growth, thanks to its location and the popularity of its Malpensa Cargo City.

Freighters such as Saudia Cargo, Nip-pon Cargo, and AirBridgeCargo are adding capacity, developing new routes and intro-ducing new flights, the airport’s operator SEA tells Air Cargo Week. In June, Cargolux Italia launched a flight to Zhengzhou (China) (via Novosibirsk, Russia), adding two new destinations at Malpensa. Silk Way Italia, launched in January 2015, services to Azer-baijan, South Korea and Vietnam.

Express gateway operations are also growing, driven by DHL’s new gateway at Malpensa, and two flights a week to Hong Kong operated by Aerologic.

New infrastructure at Malpensa Cargo City will double existing freight handling fa-cilities to around a million tonnes a year.

New warehouses (30,000 square metres), operational in 2016, will be rented to one operator and two new cargo handlers. Mal-pensa’s apron has been extended, with seven new parking stands for widebodies.

Security has been boosted with the ad-dition of wide truck manoeuvering areas with access control and video surveillance. Malpensa’s pharma offerings have also im-proved, with dedicated facilities.

New facilities draw carriers to Milan Malpensa

FRANKFURT-HAHN AIRPORT has started a road feeder service centre, connecting the airport to the Pan European road feeder network.Roger Scheifele, the airport’s senior vice president sales cargo, tells Air Cargo Week that this will benefit Frankfurt-Hahn’s air cargo clients by cutting the length of their supply chains.

He says: “Carriers may increase their air-craft utilisation due to Hahn’s 24-hour and slot-free operations too. In doing so, we will attract new clients and promote ourselves as an alternative to Frankfurt Airport.”He adds that with the global economic sit-

uation flagging, costs are of the essence. Scheifele believes that Frankfurt-Hahn’s 24 hour, slot-free operation and highly flexible handling allow it to offer advantages that the bigger hubs cannot provide.

Infrastructure the priority at Frankfurt-Hahn

Munich Airport has seen strong growth and cargo tonnage rose by 11.6 per cent in the first six months of 2015, which is a new record.

This growth is due mainly to the airport’s development as a cargo hub, explains Markus Heinelt (pictured far right), director traffic devel-opment for cargo at the Bavarian gateway.

“Over the course of last year and from the start of the 2015 summer timetable, some airlines substantially bumped up the number of flights on existing long-haul routes and also added new ones,” he says.

New clients such as Kuwait Airways and Mahan Air have also launched flights from Munich in 2015.

“The resulting gains in cargo capacity – spe-cifically lower-hold capacity – have been very effectively marketed in Munich and even further afield, and enthusiastically embraced by custom-

ers. This has given Munich Airport a big boost,” says Heinelt.

The express cargo market also continues to benefit from a strong economic region and growth in e-commerce. Long-standing cus-tomers such as UPS, DHL, FedEx and TNT are expanding their Munich-based activities as are

aiming to grow their volumes.Heinelt adds that the segment that is showing

the most robust gains at the airport is the gen-eral cargo sector, where business has risen by a third this year.

“Starting about two years ago with the launch of a scheduled service by Cargolux, followed

by the rapid expansion of AirBridgeCargo in Munich, and more recently by five weekly flights by Chinese carrier the Yangtze River Express, Munich Airport is experiencing a remarkable boom in this area”, he explains.

Logistics companies are also stepping up investments in their hub operations in Munich, Heinelt adds.

Munich Airport is currently planning a further expansion of its cargo terminal and facilities to cater for freight operators. Other expansion plans include the opening of a satellite terminal, in April 2016, and a third runway (depend-ing on shareholder approval).

Record growth at Munich Airport in first half of 2015

9ACW 28 septembeR 2015

EUROPEAN AIRPORTS

Infrastructure plans in SpainCARGO volumes at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport have risen by 4.6 per cent and at Barcelona-El Prat Airport by 12.5 per cent year-on-year in the first eight months of the year.

This growth means new cargo infrastructures are needed, especially in Madrid where the Cargo Centre has been in oper-ation for some time, says the airport’s owner, Aena.

Aena says it is now developing plots with direct access to the Madrid-Barajas apron, some of which will be dedicated to cargo handlers and couriers. The plots have a marketable area of about 120,000 square metres. Work will be finished in the first quarter of 2016.

Both airports have seen a big increase in terms of new des-tinations and frequencies in bellyhold operations. Recently Etihad Airways has begun operations at Madrid-Barajas and Cathay Pacific has announced a direct flight between Madrid and Hong Kong, launching next June.

Aena expects the main operators at both airports to be certified under the International Air Transport Association’s Center of Excellence for Independent Validators scheme. Preparation is set to begin in late September.

BRUSSELS AIRPORT is seeing rapid change, not least with-in its cargo operation.The gateway’s head of cargo sales and marketing, Steven Polmans (pictured below), tells Air Cargo Week: “We have seen several new full cargo customers starting operations at our airport in the last 12 months, resulting in year-to-date cargo growth of 10.6 per cent.”

Demolition work began in the cargo airport at the start of September, with some older buildings cleared to make space for the new DHL Express hub. This 31,500 square metre sorting centre is due to be operational in early 2017 and will triple DHL’s Brussels capacity. Other infrastructure projects underway include the development of some medi-um-sized forwarding facilities.

“All these real estate projects will definitely change the look and feel of our cargo zone,” says Polmans.

Brussels continues to invest time and energy in pharma-relat-ed initiatives. The airport is “still very happy with the results of the International Air Transport Association’s Center of Excel-lence for Independent Validators pharma project,” according to Polmans, and is working to en-sure it is the airport of choice for anyone looking for a reliable cool chain. Later this year a daily All Nippon Airways flight will start, Brussels Airport’s first direct link with Japan.

Changes afoot in Brussels

Vietnam Airlines is upgrading its fleet, having taken delivery of its first Airbus A350 eXtraWideBody (XWB) and Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner this year, to be used on long-haul belly-

hold routes.The carrier is using the Dreamliner on its

services from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to Heathrow Airport. It says the 787-9 uses 20 per cent less fuel than the 787-8 and can carry more cargo on services.

Boeing has offered Vietnam Airlines eight 787-10 Dreamliners and eight Boeing 777X-8s, which the airline has acknowledged, though no decision has been made on whether it will take up the offer. In June Vietnam Airlines took deliv-ery of its first A350 XWB, it has 14 on order.

When Vietnam Airlines took delivery of the A350 XWB, the carrier’s executive vice presi-dent commercial, Trinh Ngoc Thanh, said: “The arrival of the A350 XWB marks the start of a major upgrade of our long-haul fleet.”

Earlier this month the carrier received the second of four Airbus A350 XWB, which it is scheduled to take delivery of this year.

Vietnam Airlines has ordered 10 from Air-bus and four from lessor, AerCap. AerCap chief commercial officer, Philip Scruggs, explained at the time: “We are pleased to be leasing our first A350 XWB to Vietnam Airlines, which is one of the most vibrant airlines in Asia.”

When the carrier took delivery of its 787-9, Vietnam Airlines chairman, Pham Viet Thanh, noted: “I’m glad to introduce the very first Boeing 787 Dreamliner for Vietnam Airlines, marking the start of 19 of these new aircraft to expand our fleet and operations.”

When delivering the aircraft, Boeing Com-mercial Airplanes president and chief executive officer, Ray Conner, said the US manufacturer was proud to celebrate Vietnam Airlines’ first 787 Dreamliner and to continue to provide them with what Boeing claims are the “best air-craft in the world.”

VIETNAMFleet upgrades boost tonnage

10ACW 28 september 2015

CARGO is a priority of Vietnam Airlines and in March it moved its UK routes to Heathrow Airport from Gatwick Airport, citing better freight facilities at Heathrow as one of the key reasons for the decision.

Prior to the move it had been operating one flight a week from Gatwick to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City each. When the ser-vice launched, Vietnam Airlines did four flights a week in total to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, increased to five, with the plan to go daily in 2016.

Air Cargo Week (ACW) spoke to Vietnam Airlines’ general manager for UK and Ire-land, Le Thang Dzung, who said Heathrow had better facilities and was a more prac-tical location. He said: “We did well with Gatwick, but expect more with Heathrow and needed more frequency, so we can

have more space. Heathrow is better for us, as there are cargo warehouses and it is easier to truck cargo from here.”Dzung said the carrier wants to increase Vietnamese exports to the UK. He told ACW exports consist of textiles, shoes, mobile phones, and food products while Vietnam imports food products, pharma, salmon and machinery from the UK.

Freight focus for Vietnam

New airport with big cargo plansVIETNAM’S legislative body, the National Assembly, approved the investment policy of constructing Long Thanh Internation-al Airport, at a cost of 336.3 trillion dong ($16 billion) in June.

The National Assembly approved the plans for the airport in Long Thanh, in Dong Nai province. Cargo operations are a cen-tral part of the development. The three phase construction project will be funded by a mixture of government funding, official

development assistance and private inves-tors and developers under a public-private partnership. The airport will be built in three phases, with the first stage finished by 2025. Long Thanh will have a cargo ca-pacity of five million tonnes, with facilities built during the final stage.

An area of 5,000 hectares has been allo-cated for the airport, with the Vietnamese government taking responsibility for site clearance and relocating residents.

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NEWSWEEK

LOT Cargo has signed a cooperation agreement with Japanese Airlines Cargo (JAL Cargo) opening up new cargo opportunities between Tokyo and

Warsaw for both carriers.As part of the initiative, JAL Cargo will be

responsible for selling cargo space on LOT’s Boeing Dreamliners, and handling aircraft at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport on the carrier’s Warsaw – Tokyo route, which runs three times a week starting from January 2016.

LOT Cargo says it will be able to establish a strong position on this “dynamically growing market”. It will provide as much as 65 cubic metres of cargo space under the decks and can carry up to 15 tonnes of payload.

The general sales agreement will also see LOT Cargo and JAL Cargo offering each other cargo space on other routes they operate.

LOT Cargo director, Mariusz Kuczek (pic-tured), explains: “In a few months’ time, LOT will offer the quickest and the most efficient way to travel between Japan and new Europe.

“The new connection will offer great advan-tages for entrepreneurs too, as starting from January, they will be able to ship their goods between various airports in Japan and Central Europe easier and quicker.”

Kuczek says according to trade figures, Japan’s exports to Poland are worth 1.1 billion

euros ($1.2 billion), while imports exceed 1.5 billion euros per year.

“It is a huge potential that we are dealing with. So, we are even more delighted to be able to establish cooperation with such a renowned and experienced partner as JAL Cargo.

“By commencing cooperation with JAL Cargo, we intend to provide our customers with the highest standard of air cargo services. We do expect that the supply chains of our numerous logistics partners will be optimized as well,” Kuczek notes.

JAL Cargo’s cargo and mail executive officer, Tsuyoshi Yamamura, explains by connecting LOT’s network with JAL’s variety of routes and services to and from cities in China and the other Asian countries LOT and JAL can “greatly contribute not only to the provision of smooth air cargo service to customers in both regions and beyond, but also to the development of the economies between two coun-tries”. He adds: “We are striving to meet the wide variety of logistic needs from our customers.”

Nepal aided by Qatar AirwaysQATAR AIRWAYS CARGO has shipped 5.3 tonnes of aid from the UK to Nepal for earth-quake victims, with the help of UK actress and philanthropist, Joanna Lumley.

The aid was collected through UK based Gurkha charities Lumley supports and in-cluded baby milk, high protein rice meals, toys, saucepans, sleeping bags, blankets and duvets. It was sent to Kathmandu via Qatar Airways’ hub at Hamad International Airport. The Gurkha’s are Nepalese soldiers who fight in the UK armed forces.

Qatar Airways chief cargo officer, Ulrich Ogiermann, says: “We were delighted when Mrs Lumley made contact with us to ask for assistance with the transportation of aid collected by the Gurkha charities she sup-ports in the UK to Kathmandu.”

Since the earthquake struck Nepal in April, Qatar Airways has operated 22 aid flights to Kathmandu, with the first one landing at the city’s Tribhuvan International Airport within 24 hours of the disaster.

Qatar Airways was one of a number of companies involved in the aid effort. Among others, Deutsche Post DHL sent its disas-ter response team to Kathmandu within 48 hours of the earthquake striking. Vol-ga-Dnepr Airlines transported 45 tonnes of cargo. Air Charter Service and Air Part-ner have also operated aid flights and had teams in the country to coordinate efforts.

e-booking system expanded by WINTHE Worldwide Information Network (WIN) has expanded its e-booking system to con-nect independent forwarders to 16 airlines.

WIN says it is aiming to help them save on time and costs. WIN connects to over 90 airlines for electronic air waybills (eAWB).

The carriers available for e-bookings include British Airways, Iberia, Etihad Airways, SAS, Singapore Airlines, Jet Airways, Swiss, American Airlines, Air France, Finnair, Korean Air, KLM, Lufthan-sa, United Airlines, Emirates, and Gulf Air.

The all-in-one tool includes the ability for customers to look up flight schedules, create and manage bookings in real-time,

transmit AWB data, and receive full AWB tracking automatically.

“eAWB shipments ideally should begin with electronic bookings containing the proper special handling codes,” says WIN managing director, John DeBenedette.

“This is why WIN has added a multi-carri-er e-booking feature. Over the next months, we expect to grow the number of carriers available via a single, standardized e-book-ing process to more than 50. Forwarders who work with carriers electronically work smarter, improve accuracy, encounter fewer shipment delays, save money and enjoy full shipment visibility,” adds DeBenedette.

LOT and JAL sign cargo agreement