ACW 16th January 23

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QATAR AIRWAYS CONTINUES CAMPAIGN FOR SAFE TRANSPORT OF LITHIUM BATTERIES

Qatar Airways has become the second airline in the world to become IATA CEIV Lithium Battery certified and Qatar Aviation Services is the first ground handling company to be certified globally.

The certification aims to improve safety in handling and transportation of lithium batteries throughout the supply chain. Both Qatar Airways and Qatar Aviation Services played a key role in the design and implementation of IATA’s recent CEIV Lithium Battery programme, and continue to be actively involved in its fine-tuning and adaptation.

“Passenger and cargo safety is our utmost concern at all times, and we have continuously advocated for proper regulation in the transport of lithium batteries. We are happy to be the second

airline to be certified and encourage all air industry players to become certified. As an industry, we must focus on active risk prevention and that is achieved through strict regulation, training, and compliance,” Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Akbar Al Baker, said.

“Lithium batteries play a huge part in our daily life, from the toys we buy for our children, to the laptops we use every day, and the cars we drive, to name but a few examples. Yet, they also pose a huge daily risk for air travel and transport: one that Qatar Airways has always highlighted and worked to prevent as best possible. We are happy to see this now starting to happen with air cargo industry companies voluntarily undergoing CEIV Lithium Battery certification,” Guillaume Halleux, Chief Officer Cargo at Qatar Airways Cargo, added.

“Our plan now is to work with our global partners, ground handlers, shippers, and freight forwarders, to ensure a solid and common understanding of the risks of moving lithium batteries, and to drive positive change in the industry,” he continued.

Halleux called for faster regulation and compliance adoption concerning lithium batteries in his key note speech at the World Cargo Symposium in Dublin in October 2021. Shortly thereafter, Qatar Airways Cargo announced the complete rollover of its 10,000+ ULD fleet to Safran Cabin’s newly developed Fire-Resistant Containers (FRC), designed to resist a lithium-based fire for up to six hours. To date, it has already replaced 9,000 of its ULDs, surpassing the 70% goal it set itself for 2022, and will continue the exchange process in 2023.

ETIHAD Cargo, the cargo and logistics arm of Etihad Aviation Group, will further reinforce its commitment to the US market with the introduction of ...

CHANGING TIMES PRESENTS A ... AMERICAN Airlines handles all types of cargo, from perishables to life-saving medicine. Every day, the airlines cargo team is involved in ...

W ESTJET, a Canadian carrier betting on a profitable cargo market, is hoping for a successful 2023 in its cargo operations

The weekly newspaper for air cargo professionals No. 1,213 16 January 2023 aircargoweek.com Follow Us: ::
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ETIHAD CARGO EXPANDS ... PAGE 2
WESTJET CARGO ENTERS ... PAGE 6
LIEGE AIRPORT IS READY FOR ... LIEGE Airport has announced its readiness to accommodate the distribution of sustainable aviation fuel to its airline customers ...
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Etihad Cargo expands capacity offering to the US

ETIHAD Cargo, the cargo and logistics arm of Etihad Aviation Group, will further reinforce its commitment to the US market with the introduction of an additional three weekly flights to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) from 24 April 2023. The additional flights will bring Etihad Cargo’s total cargo capacity to over 600 tonnes out of the US per week. The flights will be operated with both Airbus A350 and Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.

“The addition of more flights per day to New York combined with Etihad Cargo’s services to other key US destinations and comprehensive road feeder service network will enable Etihad Cargo to fully support its customers in the transportation of their cargo to online and offline locations throughout this key market,” Martin Drew, Senior Vice President Global Sales & Cargo, Etihad Aviation Group, said.

Air Cargo Week World Air Cargo Awards 2023 –

Ostend-Bruges Airport handled 51,000 tonnes of cargo in 2022

OSTEND-BRUGES Airport has had a strong year. Last year, 369,300 passengers travelled through the airport, which is 67% more than last year and again 81% of the number of passengers travelling through Ostend Airport in 2019. In terms of cargo, the airport

cargo transport,” Dumas said.

“With 51,000 tonnes, we are achieving the same result as in 2020 and are still noticing a 107% increase compared to 2019 (24,700 tonnes). The investments by the airport, handling companies and external partners in

THE Air Cargo Week World Air Cargo Awards will be held in-person on Wednesday 10th May during air cargo Europe 2023.

Following a seven-week nomination process, Air Cargo Week is delighted to announce that voting is now open in the following categories:

•Airfreight Forwarder of the Year 2023

•Air Cargo Handling Agent of the Year 2023

•Air Cargo Charter Broker of the Year 2023

•Airport of the Year 2023

•Air Cargo General Sales Agent of the Year 2023

•Air Cargo Industry Customer Care Award 2023

•Air Cargo Industry Achievement Award 2023

•Information Technology for the Air Cargo Industry Award 2023

•Air Cargo Industry Marketing & Promotional Campaign Award 2023

•Cargo Airline of the Year 2023

The winners will be announced at a ceremony to be held in Hall B2 at air cargo Europe. Attendance is free-of-charge for exhibitors and visitors.

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also performed well. The total handled cargo volume was 51,000 tonnes.

Cargo

Cargo traffic through Ostend-Bruges Airport showed a nice result for the third year in a row. Just over 51,000 tonnes of cargo were handled at our airport this year. “The total cargo volume handled this year is slightly below last year’s figures. Then our airport handled 62,000 tonnes. 2021 was an exceptionally strong year globally. We expected this slight decline and it is not limited to our airport alone. Economic developments worldwide have caused a slightly lower demand for air

the further development of cargo transport are clearly paying off. In the spring, the new cargo warehouse built by Versluys Logistics at our airport will also be completed. We therefore expect cargo volumes to increase further over the next years.”

Egyptair and Qatar Airways remain the main cargo carriers serving our airport. Egyptair operated 30% more flights through OstendBruges Airport this year compared to last year. The airport also welcomed a new airline with Mesk Air that calls at Ostend weekly in 2022. In addition, our airport remains very attractive for humanitarian missions and smaller cargo flights carrying for example car parts.

Liege Airport is ready for SAF

“Liege Airport is proud and excited to confirm, as first Belgian airport, that its aviation fuel installations, as well as its fuelling staff, are ready to receive, store and distribute sustainable aviation fuel (SAF),” the airport announced in a press release.

“Throughout the last months, our fuel storage facilities have been audited and our fuel receipt, storage and distribution procedures have been reviewed to accommodate the arrival of SAF.”

At the same time, the NATO Pipeline System (CEPS) recently announced the news that it is ready to allow for the transport of sustainable aviation fuels from 1st January, 2023 onwards. With the airport-owned and -operated fuel installations being connected to this pipeline network, any current and new fuel supplier

has now the possibility to not only directly and physically discharge SAF via road tankers into our fuel installations, but also to inject larger quantities of SAF into one of the intake points of the European (Nato) Pipeline system (CEPS).

“In parallel, we are also happy to share that several of our airline-customers confirmed having talks with suppliers to arrange for the procurement and use of SAF at our airport in the short and medium term. We expect that the first cargo flight propelled by SAF will take off from Liege Airport very soon.”

“By facilitating customer-airlines to deliver sustainable aviation fuel for their aircraft at our airport, Liege Airport actively contributes to the transition towards sustainable aviation, and by doing so support meeting or even exceeding the EU-targets related to the use of SAF in the aviation industry in the years to come.”

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LIEGE Airport has announced its readiness to accommodate the distribution of sustainable aviation fuel to its airline customers.
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American Airlines rides wave of modernisation within the airfreight industry

AMERICAN Airlines handles all types of cargo, from perishables to life-saving medicine. Every day, the airline’s cargo team is involved in transporting important goods around the world. Over the last few years, vaccines and PPE has been in the focus but American has been involved in the movement of critical medical shipments long before the pandemic, with organs for transplant, critical medical equipment and more having been moved by the carrier.

“In the commercial space, we’ve always been trusted to move the most important, time-sensitive goods, whether it’s the latest phones that are needed on the shelf at first launch, or manufacturing components that keep assembly lines moving for the some of the world’s greatest products,” Brian Hodges, Managing Director of Strategy and Planning at American Airlines Cargo, said.

Changing times

The airfreight market has experienced quite a bit of change over the last two years and, as history shows, there’s no doubt that this will continue. “Our plan is to continue maximising our current network capacity and seeing where we can serve our customers even more, like through narrowbody connections or trucking, Hodges said.

As with other airlines that have a strong passenger operation, when the pandemic grounded travellers, American looked at how it can maximise the potential of its cargo division to keep the company financially stable in times of difficulty. “Our cargo-only flying programme is one of our most-valued accomplishments,” Hodges said proudly.

American’s first cargo-only flights took off on a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft between DFWFRA on March 20—23, 2022. “Our amazing Cargo Sales team booked these flights to 100% capacity within 24 hours of the flights being on the schedule. We worked with

multiple teams across the airline to make this happen – making it our first cargo-only flight since 1984. We went on to operate more than 10,000 more flights in the two years to follow,” Hodges explained.

“While we recognise the market is on a journey back to pre-pandemic stabilisation, we also understand we have all learned from the pandemic and will likely approach business a bit differently,” Hodges stated. “Things that come to mind are industry collaboration, digital distribution and being able to offer customers more options. We’ve learned the importance of agility and adaptability these last two years, and we are focused on maintaining those positions as we evolve our business.”

“There’s a lot of change happening right now, not just in the air cargo market but around the world and in the global economy. We’re seeing inflation, increased interest rates, buyer hesitancy as prices increase, individuals and business looking to take more frugal approaches, etc. These factors impact almost everyone, and air cargo is no different. The supply/demand relationship is changing due to these economic impacts, combined with an increase of capacity into the market as carriers re-deploy aircraft to meet passenger demand,” Hodges said.

Embracing digitalisation

American recognises how technological innovations are changing the air cargo industry, as digitalisation takes hold. Looking to leverage industry leading technology, the cargo wing of American Airlines hopes to offer customers enhanced supply chain tools for a smoother and more efficient shipping process.

“Digital distribution is a really big focus of ours right now – with both third party platform partnerships and our own booking channel on aacargo.com. 2022 brought about some very significant changes that improved

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the online experience and allowed our users to complete their transactions quickly and efficiently,” Hodges said.

Some examples of American’s digital development is offering online booking for animal shippers, making changes to allotment bookings to allow for multiple and repeat bookings, and improving our capacity search tool to provide more confidence to users earlier in the booking path.

“I definitely see digitalisation moving and shaping this industry. The air cargo industry as a whole has been behind on the overall modernisation front compared to other industries, but the pandemic challenged that. We had to find a new way of doing business and uncover efficiencies along the supply chain and within our relationships with teams and customers alike,” Hodges added.

American has already begun the process of replacing its endto-end distribution platform with iCargo, simplifying systems and creating a foundation for future growth and innovation.

“The reason I see technology changing the business model is that in order to really push the air cargo industry forward, every player along the supply chain needs to modernise through digitalisation as well. We saw how much the globe counted on air cargo during the pandemic, and we need to have the tools, data, collaboration, partnerships and agility to continue serving the world into the future. Digitalisation enables this,”

Hodges stated.

Diverse fleet

As American evolves and builds for the future, it has renewed its fleet with hundreds of new planes to bring both passengers and shippers a modern and connected experience. With both Airbus and Boeing aircraft in operation, American has sought to maximise the potential of widebody aircraft, seeing it as the best passenger plane for cargo. “They have the greatest capacity and usually are deployed on long-haul international routes. While this is true, we also focus on how we can best utilise our narrowbody and regional aircraft more efficiently,” Hodges explained.

With American’s passenger network offering cargo customers enormous opportunities to connect across the US and other parts of the world, the airline believes it’s well-suited to handle e-commerce traffic that’s been growing in recent months and years. “A diverse fleet allows us to acquire and deploy aircraft to more markets than ever before, enabling us to offer our customers the best network possible,” Hodges added.

Growing Team

American Airlines began 2023 where it left off in 2022, announcing a new department leadership appointment.

Indy Bolina has been appointed as the Head of Global Sales, reporting to Roger Samways, Vice President of Commercial, leading American’s global sales team supporting the carrier’s extensive customer base.

Bolina’s appointment comes after the promotion of Hodges to Managing Director of Strategy and Planning back in October, putting him in charge of a team focused on the cargo carrier’s business development initiatives.

“These appointments are not only well deserved for both leaders, but strategically enable our business to deliver on our promise to our customers and modernise our business in a way that makes a real difference. I look forward to seeing Indy and Brian pave a strong path forward toward our business goals next year,” Greg Schwendinger, Cargo President, said.

Schwedinger himself was only recently brought in as the new President of American Airlines Cargo. Bringing a seasoned background and skillset, the carrier hopes he will help them refine how they conduct the airfreight business and serve customers. “We are thrilled to have Greg as our new leader. I had the opportunity to get to know Greg early in my career and am excited to have the chance to work with him,” Hodges said. “I’m looking forward to our customers and partners getting to know Greg and learning about his vision for American Airlines Cargo.”

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WESTJET CARGO ENTERS EXCITING PERIOD OF DEVELOPMENT

WestJet, a Canadian carrier betting on a profitable cargo market, is hoping for a successful 2023 in its cargo operations. Having finally cleared a delayed regulatory approval process, the airline has confirmed the launch date for its four dedicated Boeing 737-800 freighters.

Entering the new year, Kirsten De Bruijn, the Executive Vice President of Cargo at WestJet, is clear that the airline’s cargo division is set to “enter a very promising and exciting period in its development,” with the new fleet allowing it to meet the rising demand of the Canadian market more than ever before.

New Arrivals

The freighters aren’t the only new arrivals at the airline. De Bruijn herself was only appointed as WestJet’s Executive Vice President of Cargo back in April, bringing more than 15 years of experience across the industry to the Canadian carrier. This was particularly beneficial for WestJet at a time when it needed someone to step in and effectively launch a freighter airline from scratch.

“If you make a strategic decision to invest in air cargo, then you need the team to get that off the ground,” De Bruijn explained.

“We had our new ops manager starting last year and we have more recruits to come in. We’re getting new people in to really invest in cargo.”

“A decision was made that we needed to go into freighter operations, so I came to WestJet,” De Bruijn said. “I found myself learning a lot more than I ever anticipated because in a passenger organisation that has been passenger-only for 25 years, they don’t know about cargo. So, you find yourself discussing the height of a pallet and what you can build.”

Ripe Canadian Market

Canada’s cargo market has been growing in recent years, with 2021 seeing total revenues of $1.5 billion – a compound annual growth rate of 2.7% since 2016. With other carriers turning their focus to cargo operations, the market is becoming increasingly competitive, reflecting the significant potential that it has. WestJet Cargo is among those looking to position themselves as one of the key beneficiaries of the thriving airfreight industry in the country.

“The Canadian market is completely different than the global airfreight industry,” De Bruijn explained. “It’s not just the freight forwarder. It’s direct shippers, it’s people who need to transport their pets, just moving their stuff. I mean, Canada is twice the size of the European Union, so we need airfreight in order to move anything from A to B.”

“Obviously e-commerce is a big part of the commodities that are shipped across Canada. The same-day product, which obviously is quite popular, is very difficult to offer via passenger bellies because you can always have offloads due to load factor or baggage. So, having that freighter fixed capacity is a supper winning business asset that the market needs,” De Bruijn highlighted.

Avoiding challenges

As with all parts of the airfreight industry, WestJet Cargo is not immune from experiencing issues due to supply chain challenges. Disruptions at any stage of the complete supply chain can have a knock-on effect that cause problems for everyone from the company shipping the product to the airline moving it. However, Canadian carriers have an added problem due to the weather conditions in the country, which can wreak havoc on an airport forcing WestJet Cargo and De Bruijn to work out how to operate in such an environment.

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“The freighters aren’t the only new arrivals at the airline”
WORLD AIRLINES AIR CARG O WEEK

ENTERS

Above all of that though, WestJet Cargo’s biggest issue has been simply getting its aircraft cleared to fly by the regulatory authority. While WestJet Cargo welcomed the arrival of its 737-8 Boeing converted freighters in 2022, they were not a registered aircraft type in Canada, so the carrier had to wait for authorisation before the planes could get off the ground.

Now that barrier has been cleared, the airline has set a launch date for its freighters of 26th March 2023, finally allowing WestJet Cargo to massively increase its operations and meet the growing demand of the Canadian market.

Innovation offers opportunity

WestJet Cargo isn’t just looking at the launch of its freighter operation, it’s got an eye to the future, looking at the opportunities provided by digitalisation and sustainable operations.

As an airline, WestJet’s cargo division is currently working on its roadmap but De Bruijn was clear that sustainability is a focus for them, with more detailed plans set to be unveiled in the near future. However, De Bruijn explained that both the passenger and cargo operations will seek to ensure they embrace green opportunities when they are presented.

With regards to digitalisation, WestJet welcomed a new Chief Digital Officer back in August 2022, reflecting how technological innovation is playing a role in the company’s development. “We are coming over to a new system by the end of the year to improve the self-service capability of our cargo operations,” De Bruijn stated. However, she was quick to explain that the airline will continue to provide in-person operations, rather than moving to an all-digital system, allowing people who desire to use traditional booking methods to continue to do so.

2023 goals

As mentioned, 2023 is an exciting year for WestJet Cargo as it truly begins the next chapter in its journey with its four freighters taking to the skies. While there are clear goals the company hopes to achieve over the next 12 months, De Bruijn’s first and foremost one is for WestJet Cargo to remain focused on starting with a safe and secure operation. “That’s why we hired Bharat Bhatia, our new Head of Operations, so we have an end-to-end seamless operation.”

Looking further ahead, the airline’s ambitions are clear: introducing digitalisation where it is beneficial, getting the freighters in the air and creating a very reliable product offering for the Canadian market to capitalise on growing demand in the region.

“We’re heavily investing in human capital and really making sure our product offering is clear in terms of quality. I think that is one of the winning business assets that we need to focus on.”

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VIEW FROM THE MAINDECK

NIPPON CARGO AIRLINES USES NESTE MY SUSTAINABLE AVIATION FUEL FOR THE FIRST TIME ON CARGO FLIGHTS

Airline Services International takes measures for the next level of digitalisation in its GSA operations

E-CARGOWARE , a UK-based SaaS company providing core and ancillary cloud-based freight management software services for Airlines, GSAs, GHAs, Express Operators and Freight Forwarders, has announced that Airline Services International (ASI), headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario –Canada, has opted for the acclaimed FR8Manage – GSA software to further expand its GSA operations.

Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA), the only international cargo airline based in Japan, used Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel™ for the first time on several cargo flights in November and December last year. The sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) was supplied by Neste at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

The flights with SAF are a result of NCA’s commitment to making consistent efforts to reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, including using sustainable aviation fuels. SAF has been widely acknowledged as a key element in helping to achieve aviation’s emission reduction goals globally. It delivers the performance of conventional jet fuel but with a significantly smaller carbon footprint over the fuel’s life cycle.

“NCA is delighted to announce that NCA has used sustainable aviation fuel supplied by Neste on its flights from Amsterdam. NCA is eagerly implementing various fuel saving activities to reduce CO2 emissions, and among them using SAF is considered one of the most effective measures to reduce these emissions. Therefore, we are confident that these flights with SAF will become a big step for NCA. Neste is the leading SAF producer in the world, and NCA aims to expand business activities with Neste to increase the number of flights with SAF.

NCA will source SAF at all of its destinations and work hard to tackle carbon emission issues to meet various customers’ demands,” said Hitoshi Watanabe, Vice President & General Manager, Corporate Planning at NCA.

“As the world’s leading producer of SAF, Neste is working together with companies in the air cargo sector to help them reduce the air transport related emissions. We are excited that NCA has used our Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel for these international flights. Our increased SAF production capacity of 1.5 million tonnes per annum by the end of 2023 positions us well to support the growing international SAF demand from airlines like NCA,” said Sami Jauhiainen, Vice President APAC, Renewable Aviation at Neste.

Using Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel™ reduces greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80%* over the fuel’s life cycle compared to using fossil jet fuel. Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel is produced from sustainably sourced, 100% renewable waste and residue raw materials, including used cooking oil and animal fat waste. SAF is blended with conventional jet fuel and works seamlessly with existing fuelling infrastructure and aircraft engines. Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel is commercially available and in use worldwide.

“We are very pleased to work with e-Cargoware. We chose FR8Manage – GSA to expand our GSA operations due to it being so user-friendly and intuitive”. Joseph Lawrence, president of Airline Services International, said. “The plan is to have the system ready by Q1 2023. We are very pleased with the engagement and current ongoing dialogue with the e-Cargoware team.” Airline Services International also opted for e-Cargoware’s smart email-to-quote solution, FR8Quote.

“We are delighted to have been given the endorsement and trust from a company like ASI, an experienced GSSA that delivers an exceptional level of customised service designed to meet their customer’s unique needs and exceed their expectations. Our FR8Manage – GSA application is a stable, flexible, and easy-to-use application.

FR8Manage – GSA ticks all the boxes needed for modern digital GSA operation as GSA/GSSA services becomes more complex and intensive,” Ramesh Darbha, CEO of e-Cargoware, said.

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