The weekly newspaper for air cargo professionals No. 995
20 August 2018
60 Secs of Summer
Spilling the beans as a vegetarian
UNION SLAMS SOUTHERN DEAL
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ilots at Southern Air have ratified a Letter of Agreement (LOA) to improve working conditions and wages, but unions say workplace issues still need to be resolved. The LOA was voted on from 25 July to 9 August and ratified by Southern Air members by a 94.76 per cent margin will raise some standards at Southern Air to be on a par with those of pilots at Atlas Air, but the Airline Professionals Association Teamsters Local 1224 says Atlas Air pilots are working under a “substandard” contract imposed on them by an arbitrator. The union says Atlas pilots also remain locked in “acrimonious” negotiations, and while Southern’s LOA is an improvement
ACS scores in first half of 2018
from the wages and provisions imposed during bankruptcy in 2012, pilots say it does not go far enough and the implementation will be too slow. Pilots have been working under a contract imposed in 2012 while Southern Air was in bankruptcy, and the union says the airline, which flies for DHL, has been unable to attract and retain a sufficient number of pilots to sustain operations. APA Teamsters Local 1224 Southern Air executive council chairman and veteran Southern Air pilot, Captain Bryan Holmberg says pilots have been “operating under one of the worst contracts in the industry” for too long. He says: “While the Southern agreement no longer stands alone as the worst,
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wfs to operate oslo seafood centre
we are on par with our Atlas brothers and sisters, joining them in what is now the low-bar agreement in the industry. “The company still has a long way to go until it will be able to end the rapid turnover and have the capability to attract the new hire pilots we need to meet growing customer demands.” The pilots union warns that problems at Atlas Air prove there is still a long way to go, as numerous flights have been cancelled even though many pilots have been asked to fly on their off days. They also warn that attracting and retaining pilots continues to be a major issue, with Atlas Air hiring 311 pilots in the first half of 2018 but only managing to grow by 160 pilots.
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IAG Cargo fights diphtheria
Following the outbreak of diphtheria in Venezuela, IAG Cargo has been busy shipping out vaccines to help fight the contagious disease. There have been 1,900 cases detected across 22 states, and in one shipment alone, IAG Cargo moved over 5.3 tonnes of the vaccine from India, working in partnership with Indian biopharmaceutical company Biological E. IAG Cargo global product manager for Constant Climate, Jez Palmer says: “We ship medicine across 90 countries 24/7, helping control the spread of infectious diseases across the globe. We take the responsibility of shipping live-saving medication very seriously – our dedicated Constant Climate product team ensures that vaccines arrive promptly and securely ready to be administered as necessary.”
Burt given key role at Air Partner Air Partner has picked Jack Burt to lead its US Cargo division, using his 11 years of experience in the industry in his new role as vice president of US Cargo. In the role, Burt will be responsible for implementing the aviation services group’s air cargo strategy throughout North and South America, as well as the overall establishment of the US cargo division itself. Before becoming the vice president of Air Partner’s US cargo division, Burt served as the cargo director for a number of other aviation companies where he led a large portfolio of clients and was responsible for overall sales. Air Partner US office president, David McCown says: “We are excited to welcome Jack Burt to Air Partner’s growing team of aviation experts and are confident that his skills and experience will provide tremendous growth to our company. “We look forward to growing in the coming years with Jack and are excited to have him on board.”
rio prospers despite trucker strike
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60 seconds of summer with richard charles
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Air Canada gets first CEIV Animal certificate
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ir Canada Cargo has become the first airline to receive certification under IATA’s new Center of Excellence for Independent Validators for Live Animal Logistics (CEIV Live Animals). The new standardised global certification programme to improve and reinforce the safety and welfare of animals travelling by air earlier this year, with Air Canada Cargo being chosen to undergo a pilot for the programme. Over several months from January to July, IATA specialists reviewed Air Canada Cargo’s live animal transport policies and procedures in its Montreal facility, with Canadian Food Inspection Agency compliance was fully reviewed with protocols including the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Air Canada vice president cargo, Tim Strauss says: “Air Canada Cargo is a trusted carrier for thousands of animal shippers worldwide and has followed the IATA Live Animal Regulations (LAR). We expertly handle complex shipments, from rescued dogs, endangered animals travelling between zoos for conservation efforts and of course family pets. “We are honoured to have been selected to participate in the CEIV Live Certification program and are proud of the team at Air
Canada Cargo for achieving the industry’s first ever certification, which reinforces our position as an industry leader.” IATA senior vice president airport, passenger, cargo and security, Nick Careen says: “I want to congratulate Air Canada for their great leadership in achieving the first CEIV Live Animals certification in the world. Proper handling and transporting of live animals is a very important aspect of the cargo supply chain, with many unique complexities. Global standards and expertise are key to the safe and humane transportation by air of this precious cargo.”
We partner UCA conference
Unmanned Cargo Aircraft (UCA) will change the logistics value chain. That is the claim of organisers of a industry event to be staged in November in Amsterdam that AZura International, publishers of Air Cargo Week, will partner. Organisers of Unmanned Cargo Aircraft conference say: “Unmanned cargo aircraft are a relatively new phenomenon; the first UCA service is to be started in Kenya this year. UCA offer the potential to transport loads of one to 10 tons or more over both short and long distances, on routes that are unfeasible or uneconomical for other modes of transport.” During the conference, on November 28 at RAI Amsterdam, Netherlands, internationally renowned speakers will introduce UCA development projects and potential applications. The conference aims to bring together manufacturers, operators, knowledge institutes, consultants and government organisations active in the upcoming field of unmanned cargo aircraft. The conference is “a unique opportunity to exchange ideas and network with this pioneering community of unmanned cargo researchers, engineers, business developers and end-users,” say organisers. To register: www.unmannedcargoaircraftconference.com
ACW REWIND 500
NOT all our news stories have screamer headlines or are many paragraphs long. Many news items are small, known as ‘News in Brief’ or NIBS, in the trade. Here are some from our 500th issue.
World News, courtesy of ACW Volume 11 Issue 47 24 November 2008 menzies aviation is to axe 600 jobs from among the 14,000 worldwide employees of the company in a shakeout of its ground handling and cargo business. CARIBBEAN AIRLINES introdcued an eighth B737-8 into service on 15 November. The carrier also operates five Dash 8-300s. JAPAN AIRLINES (JAL) is to launch B767 services between Osaka’s Kansai International airport and Gimpo International airport in Seoul on 10 January. SINGAPORE’S CHANGI airport is to see a record number of services in its winter schedule. BAE SYSTEMS is to lease three BAe 146-200s to Air Congo.
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NEWS ACS scores in first half of 2018
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alf-year revenue for Air Charter Service (ACS) is up 23 per cent helped by strong cargo growth and FIFA World Cup traffic. In the six months ending 31 July, revenue was up from £195.2 million in 2017 to £240.5 million this year, with cargo flights increasing 21 per cent so far in 2018, compared to airfreight industry growing four per cent. Chief executive officer Justin Bowman says ACS had a “stunning first six months of the financial year”, especially considering last year’s figures were beyond its most optimistic projections and included a number of one-off events. He also says: “We revamped our onboard courier division three years ago and that also enjoyed a good year so far, with job numbers also increasing by 21 per cent.” The 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia helped all business sectors, with ACS arranging 254 contracts for the tournament covering group
Bowman charters, private jets, travel and concierge, cargo flights and onboard couriers. Bowman says: “We flew everything from team kits, to tens of thousands of football fans, plus many of the teams themselves. Our Russian offices played a huge part in enabling us to win so much business over June and July.”
Auslander takes over at Leisure Cargo Ralf-Rainer Auslander has taken over the management of Leisure Cargo, with previous managing directors Klaus Sieger and Thilo Schafer leaving the company at the end of September. Leisure Cargo is a subsidiary of Zeitfracht Luftfahrt, based in Berlin offering air cargo management for a range of international and regional tourist airlines. It has a network of 14 airlines, cooperating with 200 interline partners and offers access to over 300 destinations, as well as collaborating with 70 sales agents, 140 handling agents and 15 trucking companies. Zeitfracht managing director, Wolfram Simon says: “With Ralf-Rainer Ausländer we are pleased to have once again gained an experienced managing director and proven freight expert for Leisure Cargo who will
consistently continue the path towards the expansion of the customer portfolio and digitalisation. “We thank Dr. Klaus Sieger and Thilo Schäfer for their intensive work in the transformation process of Leisure Cargo and wish them all the best for the future.”
Lufthansa joins forces with Brussels Lufthansa Cargo has started marketing cargo capacity on Brussels Airlines’ flights from 1 September. The pre-booking period is 30 days, and freight booked in this way will fly with Lufthansa Cargo’s air waybill with the number 020. Brussels Airlines Cargo customers will benefit from access to Lufthansa Cargo’s network while the German airline’s customers will gain access to a number of destinations in Africa. Lufthansa Cargo member of the executive board responsible for product and sales, Dorothea von Boxberg says: “Thanks to the close cooperation between Brussels Airlines and Lufthansa Cargo, our customers benefit from numerous new connections and destinations. We are very pleased that our worldwide network is thus becoming even more comprehensive and stronger.” Brussels Airlines Cargo global platform manager, Reinout Puissant says: “Our close cooperation with Lufthansa Cargo results
in a real win-win situation for both companies and our customers. As Africa specialist, we add new destinations to the portfolio of Lufthansa Cargo and from a Brussels Airlines perspective, we can now make even better use of our freight capacity.” Brussels Airlines is the fifth passenger airline whose cargo capacity is marketed by Lufthansa Cargo, with customers also having access to Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Eurowings and SunExpress. Customers also have access to Lufthansa Cargo’s 17 freighter aircraft and capacity of Aerologic, its joint venture with DHL Express.
ATC inks deal in South America ATC Aviation and Pacific Feeder Services (PFS) have joined forces, signing a deal in Santiago de Chile which took three years to negotiate. The companies say the acquisition will combine the strengths of both companies, increase global presence and create a portfolio that can benefit from growth over the long term. PFS will eventually operate under the ATC name, and until the transition has been completed, the partners will have a joint presence in the market. PFS Regional director Mark Thiermann says:
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“We will direct all our efforts towards ensuring that our customers will benefit from our new group. With global reach and top local expertise, we are in a good position when it comes to supporting our partner airlines’ growth.” ATC chief executive officer, Ingo Zimmer says: “Together we will achieve strong and complementary positions in South America’s key export markets, creating a broader and more balanced portfolio. This purchase is a further step to complete our mission to become the world leading cargo GSSA.”
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Cargo handlers
WFS to operate seafood centre at Oslo Airport
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orldwide Flight Services (WFS) and Sjømatterminalen have signed a memorandum of understanding to operate the Seafood Centre at Oslo Airport to handle up to 250,000 tons a year. Norway accounts for half of the air cargo generated in the Nordic region, Oslo was the fastest growing cargo airport in Europe with 36 per cent of the total. Of the 185,000 tons flown in and out of the airport, 90,000 tons was seafood, and Norwegian seafood as air cargo is expected to reach 230,000 tons in 2018. Construction on the terminal is expected to commence in April 2019 and the opening is scheduled for 2021. Avinor Oslo Airport director of cargo, Martin Langaas says: “This is a unique opportunity to define the future of cool chain logistics for seafood as air cargo. Langaas The Seafood Centre at Oslo Airport will
Artist impression of the seafood centre increase the competitiveness of Norwegian Seafood globally and industrialise the handling. “With an experienced international handler as WFS, we believe Oslo Airport will increase its competitive advantage as the preferred cargo hub in Northern Europe.” Oslo Airport executive vice president, Øyvind Hasaas adds: “We have listened to the exporters and their needs to ensure quality
and time to market. I believe the dedication from the Seafood Exporters in this project is an acknowledgement of the project itself. “The Seafood Centre will create value for all of Norway and increase the competitiveness of Norwegian Seafood globally.” WFS executive vice president cargo EMEAA, John Batten says: “The Seafood industry is a unique opportunity for us to share our experience and excellence in air cargo handling. We look forward to opening a dedicated facility at Oslo Airport that is fully adapted to the future needs of the Seafood industry. “Our terminal will be a game changer in the handling of Seafood as air cargo and be an important part of ensuring the future growth of one of Norway’s Batten most important industries.”
Hactl
isn’t waiting, it’s acting now Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals (Hactl) has marked the latest phase in its Green Terminal environmental programme with an event called “Don’t Wait Act Now”. The event, which included a show of upcycled fashion modelled by Hactl staff, is designed to instil a sense of urgency over the need to take steps to reduce society’s environmental impact, illustrating how every individual can make a worthwhile contribution. The highlight of the event was a parade of upcycled fashion created by a local fashion designed, in an evening featuring an interactive display, environmentally-themed games and a video about the production and installation of Hactl’s new communal water dispensers. Over 300 participants including authorities, customers, business partners, Hactl staff and others attended the event, which was opened by guest of honour, permanent secretary for the environment/director of environmental protection, Donald Tong JP, and presided over by Hactl chief executive, Wilson Kwong.
Hactl senior manager – quality assurance, Benny Siu says ‘Don’t Wait Act Now’ is seeking to change the habits of staff, tenants and terminal users. He says: “With this event and our recent actions, we are asking people to think about their personal impact on the environment, and to make small changes that can make a big difference. We hope that good eco habits nurtured in the workplace will travel home with our staff and be shared with families and friends.” Hactl has installed 78 drinking water dispensers throughout SuperTerminal 1, and issued reusable bottles and food containers with cutlery to its 2,500 staff, and discouraged the use of plastic drinking straws, provided linen bags to replace plastic bags, and placed wooden recycling bins throughout its terminal. One of Hactl’s aims is to eradicate single-use plastics from its facility, and environmental achievements include reusing or recycling 97 per cent of paper, 95 per cent of plastic and 68 per cent of wood.
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brazil RIOgaleão Cargo prospers despite truckers’ strikes
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ationwide industrial action among Brazilian truckers earlier this year did not prevent RIOgaleão Cargo – Tom Jobim International Airport’s cargo terminal from enjoying some successful business. Compared with first semester of 2017 and the same period of 2018, cargo grew 41 per cent. The cargo terminal handled more than 46,500 tonnes of cargo in its import and export terminals. The result was a growth of 41 per cent when compared to the same period of 2017. Imports measured from January to June some 19,000 tonnes, a 30 per cent increase on the previous year, with growth coming from pharmaceuticals and oil and gas segments. In terms of exports, growth was 49 per cent, totalling 27,400 tones of cargo. Main cargos were agricultural and automotive. Within this performance, RIOgaleão Cargo set a new record in June by receiving more than 6,400 tonnes of cargo, surpassing by 28 per cent its Fehring own record set in March this year.
In order to boost the growth of its operations, RIOgaleão Cargo prepared a detailed strategic plan to face the period of major Brazilian road strike, which directly impacted logistics activities throughout the country. This plan ensured the full operation of the cargo terminal activities and complied with additional demands on the kerosene filling of charter freighters and passen-
gers’ flights. In addition, during the first half of the year, requests were received from other airports, which were supported by the good level of operational services and warehouse capacity of Rio de Janeiro international airport’s cargo terminal. RIOgaleão Cargo’s regular demands and its special projects count on an extensive commercial air fleet and weekly cargo operations of LATAM and Cargolux, which reach the main import and export markets not only in Brazil but worldwide for the nation’s businesses. Some of the examples are the imports and exports of aircraft engines, which are oversized cargo operations; charter freighters with more than 80 tonnes of lemons departing from Rio to Luxembourg, and the increase of automotive engine blocks exported from the south of Brazil.
Operational teams
To meet this growth in current needs, the cargo terminal has hired 14 new members for its operational teams that aim to maintain quality standards and service delivery in a continuous and differentiated manner. For the next half of the year, there is an expectation of growth in the import volume in the pharmaceuticals and fashion segments, in addition to the expected resumption of the technology and oil and gas segments. For exports, the projection from July to December is to continue to grow maintenance in the agriculture and automotive segments. “All this physical and strategic structure give to the customer the guarantee of a complete range of services of excellence,” explains RIOgaleão Cargo director Patrick Fehring.
One down, one to go for Azul Cargo Express
In April, Azul announced it was to lease two used Boeing 737-400Fs to support the rapid growth of its cargo business unit, Azul Cargo Express. Since that announcement, Azul Cargo Express has received one of the aircraft. “The second aircraft should arrive in the beginning of September,” says Azul marketing manager Bruno Tortorella. They will be the airline’s only maindeck capacity. “We are also announcing that Azul Cargo Express (Q2 2018) revenue has grown 64 per cent compared to Q2 2017.” The 737-400F can hold up to 20 tonnes of cargo. With more capacity and higher flexibility, Azul Cargo Express expects to grow revenues by 40 per cent this year, expanding its service offering throughout Brazil. In 2017, Azul’s cargo business registered a 49 per cent revenue growth compared to the previous year. “We decided to order these freighter planes because we see the need to have some dedicated narrowbody aircraft to support the growth of our cargo business. The 737 is the only narrowbody freighter option in the market and was chosen because of the model’s low ownership cost combined with its superior capacity and unbeatable reliability track record. “With these planes, we’ll have greater versatility based on the needs of our clients, and we will also be able to offer new services, such as air charter. With no doubt, these cargo planes will support our fast expansion,” notes Azul Cargo Express director Izabel Reis.
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TRADEFINDER Airlines
Training
Online Services
Turkey
GSSAs
Freight Forwarders
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
Hong Kong
Freight Forwarders India
USA
Freight Forwarders USA
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he pretends to know what he’s talking about
with...
rd a h c ri es l r a ch
Richard Charles joined the Board of The WACO System as Executive Director in June 2011 having previously worked for DB Schenker Logistics where he was Vice President for Sales & Marketing for EMEA and member of the European Management organisation. He joined DB Schenker in 2006 following the DB acquisition of BAX Global Inc. His career includes P&L and general management from branch management to MD level whilst managing and leading company integrations of sales/ops teams following merger activity. ACW: In terms of The WACO System, what are the main opportunities you see over the next five years? Charles: Further country expansion and greater digitalisation across the network. ACW: If you were a car, what model would you be? Charles: Vintage Aston Martin. ACW: What would your autobiography be called? Charles: ‘The world in a day’
ACW: What did you have for breakfast? Charles: Scrambled eggs on toast.
ACW: If ACW came to your house for dinner, what would you prepare for us? Charles: Rigatoni with roasted tomatoes and ricotta salata.
ACW: You are on death row. What is your last meal? Charles: Black bean and rice enchiladas together with lentil tacos followed by ice cream.
ACW: Tell us the most interesting thing about you which we wouldn’t find in your CV? Charles: I’m lifelong vegetarian! ACW: If you could eat only three foods for the rest of your life, what would they be? Charles: Hummus, halloumi cheese and grapes. ACW: If you could change anything in your past, what would that be? Charles: I always focussed on team sports from my school days into my twenties but I regret not pursuing more endurance sports earlier in my life.
ACW: Are you the type of person who checks email during your vacation? Charles: Regrettably, yes I am!
ACW: Are you more of a hunter or a gatherer? Charles: Hunter. ACW: Jeff Bezos walks into your office and says you can have a million dollars to launch your best entrepreneurial idea. What is it? Charles: An online platform for planning, organising, and launching music festivals. ACW: Italian food or Chinese food? Charles: Italian. ACW: Beer or wine? Charles: Wine.
ACW: Pepsi or Coke? Charles: Coke.
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