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WORLD AIRPORTS Sponsored.COM by FREIGHTERS.COM
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The weekly newspaper for air cargo professionals Volume: 20
Issue: 3
23 January 2017
Freighter crashes in Kyrgyzstan killing 38 people
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ragedy struck the air cargo industry on Tuesday (17 January) at 07:19 local time when a Boeing 747-400 Freighter crashed near Kyrgyzstan’s Manas Airport killing 38 people including four crewmembers and 34 villagers. The ACT Airlines aircraft operating as MyCargo Airlines careered through a village, damaging 15 buildings after trying to land in dense fog at Manas, near the capital of Bishkek where it was scheduled to make a stopover on its way from Hong Kong to Istanbul. The board of directors of ACT Airlines released a statement after the crash, explaining the freighter had 85,000 kilo-
grammes (85 tonnes) of general cargo onboard. Tragically, the Turkish carrier’s crewmembers - captain pilot İbrahim Gurcan Diranci, second pilot Kazım Öndul, loading specialist Melih Aslan and flight technician İhsan Koca lost their lives in the accident. The statement continued: “Clear and verified information about the cause of the accident has not been reached yet. Our two pilot authorized on behalf of our company are at the Manas Airport, along with the authorities, in discovery and detection of the accident. “In addition, our technical team has moved to the accident site. The cause of the accident is being investigated by the authorities of Kyrgyz-
stan and the Turkish Ministry of Transport, and the accident investigation commission of the General Directorate of Civil Aviation.” The statement said there were “no faults recorded in the technical register of the aircraft” and the 747 was a 2003 model freighter and had been in its fleet since 10 December, 2015, while all the maintenance was done in a “timely and complete manner”. The statement also said: “According to the first findings, it is understood that the formation of the accident is not caused by technical reasons or loading related factors. The actual results of the work will be revealed and will be shared with the public. All losses of life and property suffered by this accident coming from the square are covered by insurance. “All damages and personal damages in the accident area are covered by our insurance company and all pecuniary damages will be compensated as soon as possible.” The 747 was reportedly operating as MyCargo Airlines for Turkish Airlines as flight TK6491. The carrier tweeted via Twitter: “Please kindly be informed that neither the aircraft nor the crew are members of Turkish Airlines.” (Picture credit: Nataev, commons.wikimedia. org).
Finnair appoints ECS in 6 Asian markets Flowers from Kenya ECS Group has been chosen as Finnair’s general sales and service agent across six important air cargo markets in Asia. Under the contract, ECS Group will market, promote and sell cargo products on behalf of Finnair in Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Cambodia, and extending the main deal in Singapore. ECS Group chief executive officer Middle East and Far East, Jonas Drewsen says: “Finnair provides a solid network and ECS Group will contribute to its deployment. The recent acquisition we made of AVS enables us to offer the strongest sales power and most determined teams in Asia to serve the airline.” Finnair has a fleet mainly consisting of Airbus A330s and A350s with capacity from 15 – 20 tonnes per flight. The Finnish flag carrier operates two daily
flights from Bangkok, daily flights from Hong Kong and five a week from Singapore. In addition it operates flights from Shanghai, Beijing, Chongqing, Xi’an and Guangzhou in China, Seoul Incheon in South Korea, Tokyo Narita, Nagoya, Osaka and seasonal Fukuoka services in Japan.
Kenya Airways Cargo (KQ Cargo) is now exporting Kenyan flowers to Australia after partnering with Qantas Airways. Sydney and Melbourne were identified as markets with opportunities. The carrier is looking to lift over 30 tonnes per month. Sales manager, Patricia Odida, says it gives the chance to increase trade exports to nontraditional markets while it opens up the Australian market for exporters. She adds: “Previously exporters relied on other carriers, but when we got into an interline agreement with Qantas, we have seen the market grow and demand is steadily increasing. We are now working on an additional gateway through Bangkok.” KQ Cargo is also aiming to move more flowers into the Far East. See pages eight and nine for more on perishables.
UNCERTAIN 2017 IN STORE BUT REGION TO GROW 22% GROWTH AND QATAR EXPECTS MORE IN 2017 SUPERFOODS HELP IAG CARGO FLY EUROPEAN INVESTMENT IN TECHNOLOGY VITAL
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Plans in China for a huge air cargo hub CHINESE logistics firm S.F. Express Co Ltd is looking to build the busiest air cargo gateway in Asia, according to reports in China. Reports claim the company will construct an airport in Ezhou city, Hubei province in central China, which will be able to handle more than 2.6 million tonnes of freight and 1.5 million passengers by 2025. The joint venture in charge of building the air hub has reportedly an investment capital of 100 million yuan ($14.4 million). The venture will be responsible for the design, construction as well as the operation and management of the project. A unit of S.F. Express – S.F. Airport Investment – and China VAST Industrial Urban Development Company have reportedly contributed 40 million yuan and 60 million yuan, respectively, to set up the joint venture. China’s domestic e-commerce is booming and there is a growing need for more narrowbody freighters and better infrastructure to handle increasing air cargo demand in the domestic marketplace. SF Airlines operates a fleet of more than 30 freighters including Boeing 767, B757 and B737 aircraft.
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16/01/2017 11:10
NEWS WEEK UK PM’s Brexit speech leaves freight Q’s
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he British International Freight Association (BIFA) says freight forwarders are none the wiser about how Brexit will impact freight following the UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s speech on plans to leave the European Union (EU). Director general, Robert Keen says the speech on 17 January delivered clarity on plans to leave the EU Single Market and her desire for a ‘tariff-free and frictionless trade’ but remains short on details to assist members going about their business. BIFA warns many issues would affect trade and the work of its members, and Keen says: “BIFA is hoping that the government has a fundamental understanding of all of the possible permutations and challenges in regards to our future trading relationships with Europe and the rest of the world, post membership of the EU.” He continues: “Freight forwarding executives are none the wiser on the actual mechanics of Britain’s future trading relationships and how they might affect the freight forwarding sector. “Will Customs reintroduce EU transaction border controls? Will the replacement for CHIEF go ahead and will the new system be able to handle the millions of extra transactions? How will controls on dual use items be managed?”
GDP renewal for Cargolux
May says she wants to maintain common travel arrangements between the UK and the Republic of Ireland, but Keen asks how freight will be managed between the two countries. Keen adds: “What our members need from Government is some answers to those questions. As the old saying goes, the devil is in the details. And after today’s much anticipated speech, much of the real detail is missing.” Parcel broker Fastlane International welcomed May’s plans for a free trade agreement with the EU, but warns her aim of abandoning the EU Common External will cost UK exporters £44 billion, add 20 per cent to the cost of exports and lead to excessive delays and red tape for shipments at EU borders.
CARGOLUX Airlines International has renewed its Good Distribution Practice (GDP) certificate, which it says confirms its strength in handling healthcare goods. Cargolux became the world’s first GDP certified airline in January 2014, and says its management system fulfils the requirements of the European Union directive ‘Guidelines on Good Distribution Practice of Medicinal Products for Human Use’ and of World Health Organization guidelines. Cargolux director global logistics services, Franco Nanna, who is also chairman of the International Air Transport Association’s time and temperature task force, says: “The GDP re-certification underlines Cargolux’s strong commitment to the safe and expedient movement of high value temperature sensitive healthcare goods across its global network. It also recognises the company’s continuous drive for service quality much appreciated by customers and partners alike.” The certificate recognises Cargolux’s operations of its fleet of Boeing 747 Freighters with four independently controlled temperature zones and its team of cool chain experts. Cargolux’s Luxembourg airport hub is also GDP certified.
Sailplane mission for Qantas
QANTAS has flown all kinds of items since it was founded over 90 years ago, but until recently it had never transported another aircraft, now it has flown two. It loaded two Jonker JS3 Rapture sailplane gliders into the hold of a passenger Boeing 747-400 and flew them from Johannesburg to Sydney for their onward journey to the FIA World Gliding Championship in Benalla, Victoria. Normally the sailplanes are transported by sea but this was not possible due to timing constraints. The gliders had to be taken apart into smaller pieces with the fuselage, wings and rudders all packed into specially designed crates. The Qantas Freight team had to calculate if the boxes could fit inside the 747’s belly but if the seven metre long boxes could fit through the door. Special crates allowing for 360 degrees of swivel and a lot of pivoting, they did, and with 100mm of clearance between the top of the boxes and the ceiling of the cargo hold, it was a near perfect fit.
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NEWSWEEK
Oz e-commerce facility for DHL ULD contract win for CHEP
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HL eCommerce has opened its Australian Fulfillment Center in Sydney to support ever-growing demand for cross-border e-commerce. The company says the facility will provide Australian merchants with fast, flexible shipping that consolidates inventory management and last-mile delivery from Sydney to major cities and regional hubs around Australia.
The centre will allow Australian e-tailers to expand sales into markets like the US, Mexico, Hong Kong, India, and Europe with minimal onboarding time and hassle. DHL eCommerce managing director for Australia, Damien Sheehan says: “As demand rises, online retailers need to overcome the traditional problems associated with shipping orders Australia-wide – particularly the significant distances between major cities that they need to traverse – if they want to maintain their competitive edge.” He adds: “The addition of our Australian Fulfillment Center gives our customers a far simpler, streamlined approach to managing inventory and last-mile deliveries, allowing them to focus squarely on satisfying their customers both during the check-out and shipment process.”
AIR Caraïbes Atlantique has picked CHEP Aerospace Solutions to supply and manage containers and pallets for its growing aircraft fleet. The transatlantic carrier operates five Airbus A330 aircraft and will shortly be adding three A350s to fly to transatlantic destinations for Air Caraïbes Atlantique and its recently launched French Blue brand. The new four-year agreement with CHEP includes the supply of containers and pallets for these new aircraft and transition of the existing
container fleet to CHEP’s lightweight containers within the first year. Air Caraïbes Atlantique chief executive officer, Marc Rochet says: “With the introduction of our new fleet and network growth, we were looking for opportunities to make our operations more efficient whilst reducing costs, enhancing performance and supporting our commitment to sustainability. “We were already considering the purchase of lightweight containers to better our fuel efficiency. ” CHEP Aerospace Solutions president, Dr. Ludwig Bertsch (pictured) explains: “The airlines’ destinations also present a great opportunity for increasing the synergies in our network as the overlap of airports enables the most economic and efficient use of ULDs to the benefit of our customers.”
Strong peak boosts HKIA’s 2016 volumes HONG Kong International Airport (HKIA) cargo volumes grew 3.2 per cent in 2016 having welcomed a number of new airlines and strong growth in December. HKIA handled over 4.5 million tonnes in 2016, with particularly strong year-on-year growth in December of 11.3 per cent to 435,000 tonnes, when it welcomed Vietjet Air services to Ho Chi Minh City and T’way Air flights to Daegu in South Korea. In December, transhipments were up 15 per cent and exports by 12 per cent, with trade to and from Southeast Asia, North America and Europe growing
most significantly. Airport Authority Hong Kong chief executive officer, Fred Lam says: “During the past year, HKIA achieved new daily records in flight movements and cargo volume, reaching 1,270 flight movements and handling over 16,700 tonnes of cargo.” HKIA has recently welcomed new services from Austrian Airlines, Bismallah Airlines, Malindo Air, T’way Air and VietJet Air who are operating a range of new belly routes to Madrid, Saipan, London Gatwick, Nha Trang, Chiang Rai, Ishigaki, Takamatsu and Yonago.
1.8% tonnage uplift in 2016 for Frankfurt
IN 2016 cargo throughput at Frankfurt Airport (FRA) increased by 1.8 per cent to 2.15 million tonnes, while aircraft movements declined by 1.1 per cent to 462,885 takeoffs and landings. Last year, FRA was affected by pilot strikes and the hub’s operator Fraport says without the effects resulting from strikes and weather-related flight cancellations, the number of aircraft movements would have seen a decline by only 0.3 per cent.
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In December 2016, Cargo saw a particularly strong December month, with tonnage growing by 7.6 per cent to 188,635 tonnes, driven by the recovery in world trade and a rise in demand for exports in the Euro zone stimulated by the weak euro, as well as the ongoing dynamic growth of the German economy. Fraport’s other airports around the globe saw varying figures for 2016 as Ljubljana Airport in Slovenia saw a rise of 2.4 per cent to 10,379 tonnes, Lima International Airport in Peru saw a fall of 4.3 per cent to 287,826 tonnes and Burgas Airport in Bulgaria was down 18 per cent to 10,877 tonnes. At gateways it has a stake in – Xian International Airport saw freight tonnage rise 10.5 per cent to 233,779 tonnes and Hanover Airport an 8.2 per cent uplift to 18,935 tonnes.
MIDDLE EAST
Uncertain 2017 in store but region set to grow
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016 was a tough year for Middle East airfreight with regional growth dragged lower by economic and capacity concerns. Back in July, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) demand in the region grew by 6.7 per cent year-on-year. Pretty strong compared to most of the rest of the globe but much lower than the 14 per cent recorded annually between 2012 and 2015. The month of August was even worse with the 1.8 per cent increase recorded then being the slowest since July 2009. September dipped even further when growth could only go up by 1.2 per cent. Analysts and regional experts were blaming weak volumes on routes between the Middle East and Asia and the Middle East and North America. Excess airfreight capacity in the region, the impact of cheaper seafreight and the volatility of world trade were identified as the main culprits. However, as the year ended hope began to return. There was a 9.2 per cent increase in demand in
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October and then a 7.8 per cent surge in November. 2017 awaits with most of those economic and market concerns still at the forefront. Political and military tensions in the region remain high and there is great uncertainty what Brexit and new US President Donald Trump will mean for global trade relationships and volumes. Individual operators in the region however appear optimistic, with new markets, sectors and continued investment helping them cope with the uncertainty.
Challenging year
Etihad Cargo recently announced that it had recorded its busiest month ever in October with 53,785 tonnes of cargo. It was helped by growth in perishables traffic from Africa, US inbound and outbound traffic and volumes from Europe to Asia Pacific. It has also expanded its services to keep growth rising this year. This includes new freighter services between the UK’s East Midlands Airport and Stansted Airport to Copenhagen in Denmark. Whilst it shows confidence in the economic prospects of Europe, Emirates SkyCargo is being bullish about the US. In December, it expanded its cargo network with the launch of a daily service to Fort Lauderdale in Florida. It offers up to 15 tonnes of bellyhold
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capacity for goods including healthcare equipment, electronics, shipping spares and food such as cheese and fruit. Providing further proof in the resilience of the UAE to 2016’s challenges comes recent figures from Dubai based cargo handler dnata. It recorded 419,133 tonnes of cargo at Dubai International Airport last year, up eight per cent on the figure for 2015. Its new customer service centre for its export cargo customers has helped its numbers with dedicated staff, new export counters, a special cargo acceptance area and a cargo integrated control centre proving successful with clients. “It’s been a challenging year but our team has demonstrated unwavering commitment to delivering the highest standards to our customers,” says dnata airport operations divisional vice president, Steve Allen (pictured left). He adds: “We have worked hard to stay agile, efficient and innovative, while never compromising our safety and operational excellence. 2017 will require us to be even more tactile and responsive to the needs of the market, and stay on top of our game to ensure a robust year ahead.” Elsewhere in the Middle East those buzzwords - responsive, agile and innovative – are also being effectively displayed. Pharmaceuticals are very much in the thinking of Turkish Cargo, the freight arm of Turkish Airlines. It has recently been awarded IATA’s Center of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) in Pharmaceutical logistics at its Istanbul hub. The carrier has also created a dedicated team to ensure that the “integrity of the cold chain and products is preserved through transportation”. As part of this Turkish Cargo, which has 3,000 square metres of special storage areas covering four different temperature ranges, is planning to introduce a ‘thermal dolly’ service to protect shipments from the heat on the airport tarmac. Perishables are also very much in vogue. Saudia Cargo is gearing up for bumper freighter flights from Nairobi to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol this February as it is the peak season window for Kenyan fresh-cut flowers being moved into Europe.
MIDDLE EAST Iran set to expand strongly this year
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017 could be the year when airfreight into and out of Iran truly begins to blossom. There are uncertainties around new US President Donald Trump’s attitude to the sanctions lifting nuclear agreement which was sealed by the Obama administration. The prospect that he tears up the agreement is very real. However, Iran Air is not waiting and wondering. It has tied up an agreement for 80 aircraft from US manufacturer Boeing. That is in addition to the order for 118 aircraft from European manufacturer Airbus earlier in 2016. That is good news for passenger traffic but also for cargo. There are issues with airport infrastructure, ground handling, onward logistics and staff training but demand to get involved in a nation whose economy is worth an estimated $400 billion and with an 80 million strong population is growing. IAG Cargo is offering bellyhold capacity to the capital Tehran, with Korean Air and Uzbekistan Airways also carrying out regular
cargo flights. Freight forwarder Davies Turner is also operating in Iran and reporting growing demand. A resurgent Iranian air cargo sector would certainly challenge the UAE carriers and no doubt bring even more pressure on stretched capacity in the region. The Middle East region has had a tough spell but through self-help and identifying new areas of service and markets it is beginning to bounce back. How confident are they? Well, recent press reports about Etihad Cargo looking to take a stake in German giant Lufthansa certainly gave the new year a lift. Etihad has denied that they are looking at taking such a stake but even the notion that such a deal could take place is fascinating. It shows that the growth of the Middle Eastern carriers compared to those in Europe is continuing to develop and evolve further. 2016 was last year. 2017 offers fresh ground for faster growth.
Muscat on the up, Salalah down
MUSCAT International Airport (pictured above) handled more than 162,000 tonnes of freight in 2016, a 20 per cent surge on figures in 2015 when it processed just 134,500 tonnes. Operator Oman Airports also explains Oman’s other international gateway, Salalah International Airport handled more than 1,350 tonnes of cargo, a nine per cent fall on the 1,490 tonnes in 2015. Plans are in place to develop Salalah’s tonnage and offering, and the operator says that the gateway has a favourable geographic position as it is the second busiest seaport in the Middle East. It is expecting that by enhancing collaboration with cargo stakeholders at the
airport through developing sea-air transportation services, this will result in freight volumes moving back on the growth path in the years ahead. Meanwhile, national carrier, Oman Cargo has said it is looking at aggressively growing its operations including a new ‘state-of-the art’ cargo handling facility at its hub in Muscat International Airport and a 100 per cent cloud-based cargo platform. It is also looking to extend its product mix this year to include express cargo, perishables, valuables, pharmaceuticals, dangerous goods and live animals. Oman looks like another market along with Iran set to emerge from the shadows of the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
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PERISHABLES
22% growth and Qatar expects more in 2017
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erishable trade grew by 22 per cent in 2016 and Qatar Airways chief officer cargo, Ulrich Ogiermann (pictured) tells Air Cargo Week (ACW) that he expects the numbers to keep growing
in 2017. Qatar Airways Cargo launched six new freighter services in 2016 to Dallas, Budapest, Ho Chi Minh City, Prague, New York and Halifax, with perishable import and export customers benefitting from extra cargo capacity to transport seasonal produce such as Nova Scotia lobsters from Halifax.
Ogiermann comments: “We have seen a surge in the carriage of lobsters on our freighters to Europe and China where they are high in demand for Christmas and Chinese New Year festive seasons.” Though the supply chain industry has seen a modal shift as exporters try sea freight, some products such as cut flowers, certain fish and seasonal products remain better suited to air cargo. Ogiermann tells ACW: “We recently completed a special charter service to transport over 850 tonnes of the seasonal Chilean cherries. A total of nine charter flights operated from Santiago, Chile all the way to Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong via our state-of-the-art Doha hub.” 2017 is shaping up to be another big year for Qatar Airways Cargo, with more freighter flights across the Americas while its new
cool chain transit facility at Hamad International Airport is nearing completion. Ogiermann says: “This transit facility, designed with separate area for perishables and situated on the airside is commissioned to be ready in March 2017. “The GDP compliant 2,471 square metre facility will enhance our ability to process more volumes of perishables quickly within a climate-controlled environment.” Qatar Airways Cargo has announced four new freighter destinations in the Americas, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires, Quito (subject to government approval) and Miami. Major commodities out of Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires and Quito comprise of fresh flowers and other perishables while Miami will serve as the distribution hub for airfreight products to and from Latin America and the Caribbean.
Africa on the up
Ogiermann tells ACW: “The introduction of new freighter services will offer businesses in the continent a young and modern fleet and access to the cargo carrier’s global network of more than 150 destinations via Doha hub.” The airline has also seen a large uplift of perishables out of Africa, having upgraded freighter services from Nairobi and Johannesburg to Boeing 777 Freighters. Wherever perishables are travelling across the world, cold chain systems are crucial, and Qatar Airways Cargo’s QR Fresh product is designed to keep temperature sensitive goods at their optimal temperature through to their final destination. Ogiermann says: “There are designated airside temperature-controlled areas that help keep the shipment at the correct temperature prior to aircraft departure. Our quick transfer solution and temperature-controlled vehicles, which meet the aircraft on arrival at the hub, prevent heat exposure from the moment shipments arrive on the tarmac.” The airline offers temperature-controlled handling and storage at the fully automated HIA
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Cargo Terminal with 64 temperature-controlled cells, fast transfers through its Quick Ramp Transfer and a dedicated climate control team. It uses refrigerated trucks at the Doha hub to ensure the cool chain is seamless, and are always used for products requiring cooling. Ogiermann explains: “We store products in these trucks if the connection time is short and have them wait on the tarmac. “If the connection time is longer, even at a distance of 200 metres, we will drive the goods in these trucks into the refrigerated area of the warehouse.” He says with a fleet of over 170 passenger aircraft offering bellyhold capacity, and 20 freighters, that Qatar Airways Cargo can flexibly adjust to the needs of the cargo business. “We utilise both, the passenger aircraft and freighters to transport perishables, based on the market needs, nature of goods and customer requirement.”
More growth in perishables
According to figures from the International Air Transport Association, the air cargo sector generates nearly $70 billion every year, and Ogiermann says a large and growing segment is temperature-sensitive cargo such has pharmaceuticals, fresh fruit, vegetables and flowers. He sees demand for air transport of perishables growing as the world’s population rises, and the growing middle class and income growth in developing countries. With a fully automated hub, Ogiermann says Qatar Airways Cargo is well positioned to cater for this growth. “We will soon launch an advanced cool chain transit facility in response to growing global demand in specialised air freight solutions for temperature-sensitive products and remain highly supportive and creative when providing our customers with specialised air freight solutions to meet their needs.” “It is imperative for us to build trust and longterm business relationship with our customers through our sincerity and commitments as their preferred air cargo service provider” he adds.
PERISHABLES
Finnair investing in infrastructure with COOL hub
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innair Cargo is investing in infrastructure with its COOL Nordic Cargo Hub at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, head of global sales Fredrik Wildtgrube tells Air Cargo Week (ACW). He says demand is expected to continue growing and customers are demanding high quality, and Finnair Cargo is always looking for ways to improve its services and reliability. It is developing its COOL Nordic Cargo hub, which will feature a dedicated temperature controlled 3,000 square metre area for perishable goods and a similar sized area for pharmaceuticals. Wildtgrube says: “The new terminal is also located closer to widebody aircraft stands, which will reduce the time that perishable shipments are outside on tarmac.” He adds: “The COOL terminal will enable us to handle increased volumes of perishable goods, and the warehouse monitoring will help us ensure they stay in ideal conditions to preserve the goods as instructed by the shipper.” Salmon and seafood remain the most popular perishables, but Finnair Cargo also transports fruit, cheese, chocolate and other
delicacies. Wildtgrube says: “Temperature-sensitive pharma is also one category of perishable products and we have placed special focus on it during the past couple of years.” Investing in facilities such as the COOL Nordic Cargo Hub is very important as demand is expected to rise. Wildtgrube tells ACW: “Fuelling the increased demand is fresh food products and the incapability to store them for longer time at destination. We
believe that it’s important to remember that a well working supply chain manages revenues. “Therefore a well oiled transport chain is needed to secure laser sharp reliability transport and as a result, great quality products at destination at precisely right time and right place. We at Finnair Cargo can, and want to answer to this demand. We are here for our customers.”
Superfoods help IAG Cargo fly
DEMAND for high-end super foods has been growing strongly in recent years and the nature of the product means their transport is best supported by airfreight, IAG Cargo manager global products, Daniel Johnson (pictured) explains. He says IAG Cargo saw perishable volumes grow eight per cent in 2016 with a significant increase from Europe to North America and LATAM to Spain. Volumes from the US West coast grew due to IAG Cargo’s feeder program from LAX to San Francisco and new San Jose flights. Popular goods include fruit and vegetables including cherries, strawberries, asparagus, green onions and grapes from the US West coast to the Middle East, fish and lobster from the North East of the US and Florida, and high quality seafood from Scotland and Scandinavia destined for China. IAG Cargo has seen changes, with Johnson saying: “Over the past year we have witnessed the emergence of new perishable trade lanes; while traditionally we have seen high demand for peppers from Spain and Mexico, we are seeing new high quality commodity flows from Israel into North America.” He adds: “Speed remains a key driver for our customers and we are seeing a growth in seafood being upgraded to Prioritise in order to benefit from our same day connecting service at Heathrow, which is of huge value to time sensitive products.” Johnson says IAG Cargo is focusing on rapid handling from aircraft arrival at Heathrow Airport to delivery direct to consignee through its Constant Fresh product. He explains: “This means customers are now able to collect direct from us airside just 90 minutes after flight arrival. This rapid turnaround has proven valuable to supermarkets looking to restock at speed.” IAG Cargo expanded its network in 2016 and Johnson says this delivered benefits to customers using Constant Fresh: “Today, perishables can travel from the Far East to South America in just a day and a half with one carrier - a duration which showcases the clear benefit of air cargo.” IAG Cargo plans to expand further expansion of perishable facilities with the £55 million ($67 million) premium handling operation building – new Premia – at Heathrow. The Constant Climate Quality Centre within the facility will be twice the size of the current Constant Climate facility. Johnson says: “This will have ‘airlock control’ and a dedicated direct intact lane that can move freight straight to airside. Enabling works have now commenced adjacent to our current Premia facility, and we will be keeping customers updated with our progress.”
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EUROPEAN CARGO
Record year in 2016 for tonnage at Schiphol
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msterdam Airport Schiphol ended 2016 with a record as it handled 1.66 million tonnes, up 2.5 per cent on 2015. Europe’s third largest air cargo hub had a strong end to the year, with December figures up 10.4 per cent on the same month in 2015 at 149,000 tonnes. Cargo until November was up 1.8 per cent year-on-year, with figures for January to November 1.51 million tonnes. Cargo director, Jonas van Stekelenburg says:
“We have launched a number of initiatives to enhance the experience of our pharmaceutical, e-commerce, and perishables customers, and our continued commitment to quality is having positive results. “We had a strong start to 2016 due to several new carriers making use of Schiphol, and expansion by existing players, and there was an increase in traffic levels in the second half of the year resulting in a total tonnage that surpassed our expectations.” Asia remains Schiphol’s largest market, with Shanghai, China, the busiest destination, and new direct flights launched to Xi’an and Ningbo, both in China. “The upswing in e-commerce shipments, both inbound and outbound, were a large contribu-
tor to the cargo volumes for this market,” says van Stekelenburg. “As a large number of flights now transit Europe en route to China, we can attribute a proportion of the growth in our European figures to the developing Asian market.” Fewer direct flights to Asia meant final figures for the region were down five per cent inbound and seven per cent outbound to 290,313 tonnes and 290,560 tonnes respectively. Flights to Asia transiting European destinations including Baku, Azerbaijan, and Moscow, Russia, increased, however, resulting in a strong overall result for Asia cargo through the hub. A proportion of Europe’s growth of 74 per cent to 104,061 tonnes outbound, and 42 per cent to 105,736 tonnes inbound was therefore down to cargo transiting to and from Asia. Africa inbound volume grew two per cent to
European investment in technology vital
THE consolidation of ground handlers and airlines is set to continue in Europe, according to Hermes’ chief cargo officer, Steve Montgomery (pictured above). He believes the current European air cargo marketplace is as competitive as ever with “very tight margins” and pressure is increasing on the continent’s carriers from expanding Middle East airlines. Montgomery notes there are challenges in Europe especially for cargo handlers, who are historically more conservative and the focus is simply on making “reasonable profits” so they can continue to invest. He feels modernisation of processes and using more technology is vital to be competitive: “The need for modernisation is always there and the value for money should always be considered. Today, there is not even one company that can allow itself to operate without some level of modernisation as PC and HH for users, managing software, automation, and paperless work etc. “A more modernised approach will be to adopt full automation, RFID, beacons and IOT, business intelligence, data mining and big data and other new innovations but the value for money is always there as a brake and a filter.”
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117,556 tonnes because of increased freighter capacity serving the perishables market. Outbound volumes to Africa were 11 per cent down at 54,684 tonnes. Middle East tonnage was up five per cent to 94,607 tonnes, with outbound tonnage remaining at 120,111 tonnes. Latin America inbound cargo was up 11 per cent at 101,706 tonnes because of a boost in flower imports from Quito, Ecuador. Outbound cargo saw a downtick of 12 per cent at 75,125 tonnes, reflecting decreased capacity on routes to Miami, USA, and South America. Exports from North America were down one per cent to 157,621 tonnes year-on-year because of decrease in belly volume, whilst North America import volume was up two per cent at 150,172 tonnes because of an increase in flights from the USA into Europe.
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Montgomery says in Hermes’ experiences cargo handlers can feel like they are being squeezed by expectations of airlines and freight forwarders, noting it is often only technological advances that can take an operation forward with regards to process improvements, and service delivery. Hermes he says believes the acquisition of a quality, process-driven, best practice integrated CMS is the most important investment a cargo handler can make, but tight operating profits make purchasing new technology a challenge and a big decision. Growing competition and massive investments made by competitors in the Middle East and Asia he notes is forcing European operators to invest. “We believe the first ones to invest will also be the ones to benefit the most from increased capabilities and profits,” Montgomery says. The Hermes CMS he says improves efficiency; reduces errors and cost; has the capability to handle more within the same facility with the same staff; handle new airline products; offer additional services; and the capability to project the impact of new customer requirements. Hermes is working on other technology including beacons to monitor temperature, location and movement of cargo in the warehouse, a generic work tool allowing customers to define and add their own specific internal processes and a new technology road map with mobility, archiving solution, and business intelligence. Montgomery concludes air cargo firms “cannot afford” to neglect technology and must adopt the latest innovations to grow.
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ACW 23 JANUARY 2017
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