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WORLD AIRPORTS .COM ACW Digital is sponsored by FREIGHTERS.COM
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The weekly newspaper for air cargo professionals Volume: 20
Issue: 47
27 November 2017
TIACA and AFRAA sign MoU to modernise Africa
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he International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) and the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to work closely on issues affecting air cargo, from security to digitisation. The MoU was signed at the 49th AFRAA Annual General Assembly (AGA) in Kigali, Rwanda, and TIACA will collaborate with AFRAA’s 40 members from across the aviation sector to support the rapidly developing air cargo sector in Africa. The two associations will work to improve air cargo safety and security, as well as champion industry’s adoption of digitisation, and offer new training initiatives. Other areas of cooperation include advocating for improved market access across the continent, the modernisation of air cargo facilities and services, and promoting environmental best practice, as well as working together on future events. TIACA secretary general, Vladimir Zubkov says: “TIACA stands to benefit from better connection with the continent, which is the fastest
DEMAND RISING FOR AIR CARGO TRAINING COURSES COOL CHAIN COURSES PROVING A SUCCESS
developing in air cargo movement. We are happy to offer assistance from TIACA in structuring the air cargo part of the future AFRAA agenda.” The MoU was signed by Zubkov and AFRAA secretary general, Dr Elijah Chingosho in the presence of Astral Aviation founder and chief executive officer, Sanjeev Gadhia and AFRAA secretary general designee, Abderahmane Berthe. Chingosho says: “It is indeed important that
the oft-neglected cargo sector receives the attention it deserves at AFRAA forums and conferences. Indeed, our Association with TIACA, of which Vladimir has played a large role, will significantly help our airlines in developing their cargo sector.” He adds: “AFRAA appreciates TIACA’s attendance at our AGA, participating in panel discussions and raising critical cargo and other issues, as well as our two organisations signing the MoU.”
have risen tremendously by 87 per cent and 58 per cent since 2014. Qatar Airways Cargo currently offers belly capacity on the airline’s daily passenger flights to Yangon. The addition of dedicated freighter service will provide additional capacity to support Myanmar’s thriving garment exports, as well as other major commodities, including fresh produce and food products. Ready-made garments are the chief exports destined mainly for Europe and the United
States via a seamless stopover at the cargo carrier’s state-of-the-art Doha hub. The new service will also facilitate the transit of pharmaceutical imports from Europe to Myanmar through its QR Pharma product. Qatar says Asia Pacific is a prime air cargo market and with the launch of new freighter service to Yangon, it has grown its network in the region to eight destinations. Qatar also offers significant belly capacity to 29 cities in the region, providing a combined weekly capacity of more than 8,000 tonnes out of Asia Pacific. The carrier recently launched freighter service to Pittsburgh, becoming the first international airline to provide dedicated freighter service to the city. Qatar Airways Cargo recently welcomed its first Boeing 747-8F and its 13th Boeing 777F as part of its strategic expansion plan to offer its customers scheduled and charter freighter services with a young and modern fleet.
Qatar Airways launches the first freighter route from Yangon Qatar Airways Cargo has become the first international carrier to launch a freighter service to Yangon in Myanmar. The Doha-Yangon-Doha route is served once-a-week with the Airbus A330 Freighter, providing more than 60 tonnes of cargo capacity each way. Qatar Airways’ acting chief officer for cargo, Guillaume Halleux says: “We are delighted to launch our eighth freighter destination for 2017, in line with our strategic expansion to our network and fleet. “Since the country’s liberalisation, Myanmar has had the fastest-growing economy in the ASEAN region, and foreign investment in local trade has seen tremendous growth. “We are extremely proud to be the first international airline to serve this emerging market with scheduled freighter service as we aspire to become the premier air cargo service provider in the region.” Myanmar’s airfreight exports and imports
OXENTINE PUTTING EXPERIENCE TO GOOD USE
CARGO AN INTEGRAL PART OF BUSINESS AT JET
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Record revenue and charters for ACS AIR Charter Service (ACS) has had a record quarter with revenue of more than £144 million ($190 million), with charter numbers hitting new highs. The revenue was up 50 per cent on the same period of August to October in 2016, with a record 4,279 contracts in three months. Group chief executive officer, Justin Bowman says there has been a marked increase across ACS’s main divisions including cargo, and on-board courier. He says figures have been slightly inflated due to work in the US and the Caribbean following the hurricanes, when it arranged more than 150 charters. Bowman says: “Even taking these aside, to arrange more than 4,000 contracts is equivalent to averaging almost two every hour of every day over the last three months. And to reach £144 million in one quarter, which is equivalent to almost $190 million, is as remarkable, and another massive step in the direction of our next goal, which is to become a billion dollar company.” Bowman promises the next year will be very exciting for ACS, saying: “We are looking to open a number of new offices over the next 18 months, so watch this space.”
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NEWSWEEK
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Cargo joy for Cathay Pacific in October
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athay Pacific Airways grew its cargo tonnage and overall freight figure numbers in October compared to the same month in 2016. Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon combined carried 180,706 tonnes of cargo and mail last month, which was an increase of 4.8 per cent compared to the same month last year. The cargo and mail load factor also rose by 1.2 percentage points to 69.3 per cent. Capacity, measured in available cargo/mail tonne kilometres, was up by 2.4 per cent while cargo and mail revenue tonne kilometres (RTKs) increased by 4.2 per cent. In the first ten months of 2017, the tonnage rose by 10.8 per cent against a 3.1 per cent increase in capacity and an 8.7 per cent increase in RTKs. Cathay Pacific director of commercial and cargo, Ronald Lam explains: “Our cargo business enjoyed a strong month and we broke our weekly tonnage uplift record during the week ending 21 October. Stepping into the traditional peak period, demand for new IT products and perishables was robust. “We deployed additional freighter capacity on transpacific, India and mainland China routes, while our load factor and yields con-
tinued to climb. “October also marked an important milestone for our Pharma LIFT business – along with our wholly-owned subsidiaries Cathay Pacific Services Limited and Hong Kong Airport Services Limited, the airline was awarded CEIV Pharma Certification in recognition of our capability in handling high value and time-sensitive pharmaceutical products.”
HK Airlines signs B&H deal
B&H Worldwide has signed an AOG and time critical freight services contract with Hong Kong Airlines. B&H will provide a range of time critical solutions to the Special Administrative Region’s regional carrier which serves more than 35 destinations across Asia and the Pacific. It will control the business from its 24/7 365 Hong Kong facility and in particular manage freight import and Customs clearances for Hong Kong Airlines to ensure the timely arrival of its critical engineering parts and supplies. As the carrier continues its expansion programme through the addition of new routes B&H will also provide AOG logistics to and from the new destinations. By committing to provide timely services with full transparency though utilising its in-house designed IT system, OnTrack, to manage the process Hong Kong Airlines will receive a cost-effective freight solution. B&H Worldwide chief executive officer, Stuart Allen says: “This further strengthens our relationship with Hong Kong Airlines and we are very excited to be part of their expansion plans. “As the airline adds new routes to its network, we will ensure its critical engineering logistics requirements are fully supported via the B&H global network and our suite of aerospace logistics services.”
Steady growth at Hong Kong
HONG Kong International Airport (HKIA) saw steady cargo growth in October as throughput went up by 2.3 per cent year-on-year (YOY) to 430,000 tonnes. The freight surge last month was mainly driven by four per cent YOY growth in exports. Amongst the key trading regions, Europe increased most significantly. Over the first 10 months of 2017, HKIA’s cargo throughput soared 9.9 per cent from the same period in 2016 to 4.01 million tonnes. On a rolling 12-month basis, HKIA, the world’s busiest cargo hub, handled 4.88 million tonnes, a climb of 9.8 per cent on the previous 12 months.
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HAE looking to add services in Dubai
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he HAE Group’s strategy in Dubai and the UAE is to add to the number of services it offers airline partners, forwarders and network of offices outide the region, says vice president for the ME/ISC/AP/Africa, Peter Kerins. HAE has representation at Dubai International Airport (DXB), Sharjah International Airport and Dubai World Central, which covers all the key regular activities it handles. In DXB it offers GSSA services representing carriers such as DHL Aviation, Air Canada and American Airlines. In addition it offers line-haul services to its global network of offices for charters, partcharters, diversions and BSAs across the region. Kerins says: “The Middle East and specifically the UAE is a key market for the HAE Group. It acts as a regional office and a regional hub for cargo that is sold and carried across our network of offices.” He is says it continues to see growth in the market, despite challenging market conditions for 2017 and believes this will continue into 2018. Kerins adds: “Capacity in the UAE has reduced this year, which has increased yields also. Both import and export volumes have increased in tandem with these reductions in lift. “Sea-air markets are still stable if not showing marginal growth,
but the issues that we have seen hamper this growth has been the additional security on material coming from such markets as Bangladesh/Pakistan by sea which require extra screening.” Africa is still a strong market for HAE, but the volumes to both the GCC and Europe have been steadily increasing since the first quarter of 2017. North American markets have also shown growth for the textiles products travelling by sea, transiting in Dubai for airlift from Dubai. Kerins feels Dubai will continue to be a vital regional and global hub. “I think Dubai will not only maintain its position as a key gateway/hub, but its importance will grow as the local infrastructure grows,” he adds.
NEWS WEEK WORLDNEWS PANALPINA’s chief operating officer and executive board member Andy Weber is to leave the company at the end of the year due to personal reasons. He joined Panalpina in 2015, leading many turnaround projects and made the energy and projects solution “fit for competition in the challenging energy and capital projects sector”. Weber will leave the company at the end of the year and his position of chief operating officer will not be replaced. AIR Partner has appointed Robert Jubb as freight trading manager and he will be based at the charter firm’s UK headquarters at Gatwick Airport. Jubb has over 13 years of experience in the charter brokerage, airline and time-critical logistics industries. Jubb was previously commercial director at AirX Charter. He also spent eight years at another competitor from 2008 to 2016 in a number of roles, including commercial manager.
TEK Poseidon for UTAir
UTAIR has appointed TEK Poseidon – the Russian member of the 1GSA network – as its general sales agent (GSA) for services from its Moscow Vnukovo International Airport (VKO) hub, and stations in Riga (Latvia) and Tashkent (Uzbekistan). The Russian carrier serves 72 destinations with its 65-strong fleet and TEK Poseidon will focus on marketing bi-directional capacity on the airline’s six times weekly services from Vnukovo to Tashkent using B767s, and its daily 737 services to Riga. To represent UTAir, TEK Poseidon has opened new offices in Riga and Tashkent, supplementing its existing Moscow base. TEK Poseidon says there is strong potential for services from VKO to Dushanbe (Tajikistan) and Yerevan (Armenia), along with the proposed new route from VKO to Milan Malpensa. The extent of UTAir’s network will also open up transit opportunities over its VKO hub, such as Tashkent to Riga. To broaden the appeal of UTAir’s services, TEK Poseidon will provide Customs clearance, road feeder services and local collection and delivery from each of its three bases. TEK Poseidon chief executive officer, Alexander Tysyachnikov says there is excellent interline potential, and he anticipates a good balance of cargo in both directions on all routes.
Lufthansa extends FRA contract LUFTHANSA Cargo and Fraport Ground Services have signed a contract to extend their ground handling partnership at Frankfurt Airport. The agreement has been signed for eight years and runs from January 2018 to December 2025. Fraport member of the executive board and executive director of labour relations, Michael Müller says: “We are very pleased that Lufthansa Cargo has decided to continue its successful collaboration with Fraport Ground Services. “The agreement underlines the close and longstanding relationship between Fraport and our partner and customer Lufthansa Cargo here at Frankfurt Airport.” The new agreement covers aircraft ground handling, particularly the loading and unloading of freighter aircraft along with cargo to and from the aircraft on the airport grounds. The Lufthansa Cargo fleet consists of Boeing B777 Freighters and MD-11 aircraft and the carrier has the highest cargo volumes of any airline at Frankfurt Airport. Lufthansa Cargo board member of operations, Sören Stark says the new agreement signifies a continuation of the successful system partnership with Fraport in this area for many decades.
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NEWSWEEK Infrastructure in Turkey inadequate for perishable goods
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nfrastructure at Ataturk International Airport is not adequate for the volumes of perishables travelling through Turkey, but the new Istanbul airport should help solve some of these issues. The issues facing perishables were discussed on 16 November during the PeriLog on Air Freight session at Logitrans Istanbul exhibition. Session moderator Hasan Hatipoglu, who is Lufthansa Cargo’s regional director for Turkey admitted that Ataturk lacks capacity, and transitioning to the new airport will be challenging. He told delegates: “Ataturk has insufficient capacity. After opening the new airport we hope everything is on track to stop operations and then relaunch on the same night. The focus today is on perishables, it is important to focus on production.” Hatipoglu was joined in the session by Flas
Agricultural Products chairman of the board & the Ornamental Plants and Products Exporters Union president, Osman Bagdatlioglu; Yeditepe Transportation chief executive officer, Alp Tughan; Turkish Airlines special cargo manager, Abdullah Bahadir Buyukkaymaz; Qatar Airways Cargo manager for Turkey, Serkan Demirkan; and Lufthansa Cargo Frank-
furt HQ special cargo press manager, Ali Onalan. Demirkan agreed with Hatipoglu’s comments, saying: “When we look back at our airports and ask do we have the necessary infrastructure unfortunately the answer is no. The new airport is under construction, there is one year left to attract attention. There is a great opportunity.” Bagdatlioglu believes the third airport offers
Turkey to remain an important logistics hub for years to come
TURKEY will remain an important logistics hub for years to come, delegates were told at the opening of logitrans 2017. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the trade show in Istanbul on Wednesday 15 November, Messe Muenchen member of the management board, Gerhard Gerritzen welcomed delegates to the 11th instalment of logitrans, and spoke of the importance of Turkey in global logistics. He says: “Turkey is an important hub in the international supply chain. It is a central market place for Asia, Europe and North Africa, for crossing borders between east and west. The Turkish government is making significant investments in logistics and is planning a logistics master plan.” This year’s show was the 11th instalment, and Gerritzen thanked delegates and exhibitors for continuing to support logitrans. He says: “Logistics is an essential part of the international network. In these turbulent times it is important to discuss the opportunities and risks to find out about things and maintain networks.” Following Gerritzen’s speech, where he
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great opportunities for ornamental flowers, saying: “They can be sent to the world from Istanbul. We see a lot of projects where they have an average of a four-hour flight to a neighbouring country but we need to protect the cool chain. One mistake in the warehouse can have a major impact on business.” Buyukkaymaz agreed, saying: “The apron is the weak link, we have six heat controlled dolly containers, we are the only company at Ataturk with these containers. We have worked with the subsidiary TGS and have signed a contract with them for a performance based system for time management to shorten the period on the apron.” Digitisation is something that can improve matters, Hatipoglu says: “The move towards digitisation is very important, it can reduce the time needed for procedures and we can overcome obstacles thanks to digitisation.”
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was joined by EKO MMI managing director, Ilker Altun, further speeches were made by Turkish and international speakers. First up was French Trade Commissioner at the French Embassy to Turkey, and Business France country manager for Turkey, Pascal Lecamp, who talked about the importance of Franco-Turkish relations. The show welcomed a French pavilion for the first time with five companies, and next year is planning to double its surface area with 10 companies. Lecamp explains: “We believe logitrans is the right place to meet people, not just in the Turkish market but in the region as well. The national logistics centre of the world for us today is Turkey.” International Transporters Association of Iran board member, Farid Saffarzadeh spoke of the strength of ties between Iran and Turkey, describing them as brothers. He says: “Iran and Turkey have got a very long history, we are not only neighbours but brothers, we love each other deep from our hearts. Iran and Turkey play a very important role in connecting Europe and Asia. We can build up more business together.”
NEWS WEEK New UK pharma facility for CEVA CEIV for Swissport at Frankfurt
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EVA Logistics has opened a fully refurbished 132,000 square foot pharma facility at Redditch in the UK. The site further adds to the forwarder’s investment in the pharma logistics industry and will serve a number of customers across the sector. Refurbishments included the addition of LED lighting as well as the installation of a HVAC system (heating, ventilation and air conditioning). The HVAC system enables the facility to provide temperature controlled areas. There is also a dedicated area in the warehouse which can store specialist items requiring to be kept between the specific range of two and eight degrees Celsius. It is an MHRA approved facility (Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency) which certifies it as a safe and secure component of a medical supply chain. The opening of the facility coincides with a new five-year warehousing agreement and a three-year transport agreement with Nutricia – a medical nutrition company. Under this agreement, CEVA provides the warehousing and distribution of medical nutritional feed products for a wide variety of medical conditions for both pharma wholesalers and home-bound patients. CEVA’s site has a registered pharmacy to dispense prescriptions and the onsite pharmacist and support team accurately check all home delivery orders and clinically check all prescriptions using bespoke software. In addition, BMI Healthcare, the UK’s largest private hospital group is also transitioning
to the new specialist facility where CEVA will continue to provide warehousing and distribution for its medicines and hospital consumable goods. Further healthcare customers will be operational at Redditch before year-end. CEVA’s executive vice president for the UK, Ireland and Nordics, Michael O’Donoghue (pictured below) says: “In order to provide logistics service to the healthcare market, you must meet strict regulations and compliance standards and by making this investment in our Redditch facility, we are ready and approved to meet demands of the market.” He adds: “We have built up strong partnerships with our clients in this industry and we are looking forward to seeing this new facility strengthen and add value to their supply chains.” Meanwhile in other news, CEVA has also promoted Jerome Lorrain to the role of chief operating officer for freight management, while O’Donoghue will take over as managing director for North America. Lorrain will be adding the responsibility for air and ocean freight to his position as head of the ground business line, which he has taken over from Helmut Kaspers who has left the company for another role. O’Donoghue will take over from Lorrain on 1 January 2018, and his replacement will be announced in due course.
SWISSPORT Cargo Services Frankfurt – a subsidiary of Swissport International – has been awarded IATA CEIV Pharma certification at Frankfurt Airport. This certification Swissport says reflects its continued dedication to offer “excellent” life science & healthcare shipment handling services and will increase its contribution to the Pharma Gateway Frankfurt. Swissport says with increasing life science & healthcare shipments over the past few years, maintaining a stable and secure supply chain requires specific equipment, storage facilities, harmonised handling procedures and above all, strong cooperation among cool chain partners. As part of the Frankfurt Cargo community efforts, Swissport Cargo Services Frankfurt has developed a dedicated product line for the handling of life science & healthcare shipments. The handler says certification was gained due to investments into infrastructure, equipment and training. Swissport Cargo Services Frankfurt station manager, Philip Roodenburg says: “Regard-
ing pharma shipments, we fully realise that there are always humans involved who need a constant flow of safely delivered medical products. “Hence, it is of utmost importance to have a solid process, training and a state-of-theart facility in place. Getting there was a tough job, but IATA CEIV Pharma certification is a great reward for our efforts and makes the whole team very proud. “Our business is continuously changing and it’s our duty to keep up with these changes. Next to further developing our pharma handling capabilities, we are also constantly improving our processes and seeking for innovations that can make the difference in future cargo handling.”
ANA awarded CEIV at Tokyo Narita
ALL Nippon Airways (ANA) has become the first airline in Japan to be awarded the IATA CEIV Pharma certification. The airline has achieved the accreditation at ANA’s largest cargo operation, at Narita International Airport in Tokyo. ANA says to provide a higher quality in handling and transporting pharmaceutical
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products, it implemented numerous enhancements in various areas, such as organizational structure, training, quality management, and handling manual. Last autumn, ANA developed a new product called ‘PRIO IB Fixed Temp’ for cool chain cargo. It says it will continue to strengthen the quality of pharma handling to meet customer’s needs.
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AIR CARGO USA
Oxentine putting 30 years of experience to good use
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fter 30 years in various roles in the passenger business, American Airlines Cargo managing director of global & key accounts, Lisa Oxentine (pictured) hopes to be able to put this experience to good use in the cargo division. She joined American Airlines in 1987 as a frontline customer service agent and has since held positions in areas including passenger service and operations, premium services, sales support operations, corporate products and passenger global sales and most recently leading the customer recovery team in the customer experience department. She took
over Roger Samways’ position following his promotion to vice president of the cargo sales division earlier this year. Speaking to Air Cargo Week at the Air & Sea Cargo Americas conference on 2 November, Oxentine explained: “My focus has been getting out there and meeting with the accounts and participate in the all the meetings that my account managers have been preparing with their reviews in the last quarter and it’s really helped me learn the business more.” Oxentine says the transition to cargo has been “surprisingly easy”, having spent the first 14 years at American Airlines at the airport having worked in areas including weight and balance, so she was familiar with cargo, and having worked in passenger sales, customer meetings do not phase her. She says: “The structure of contracting is very
different compared to the passenger side but the operations and sales background has been instrumental in being comfortable in this environment. I don’t have a cargo background but the airline is very similar.” Something that has surprised Oxentine about cargo is how backwards the technology is, a long way behind the passenger division. She says: “Over 20 years ago we went into electronic ticketing so that was a big surprise when I came into cargo that everything is still so paper driven but it did take a long time on the passenger side and we are very engaged with e-airway bills to get that piece started first.”
She describes it as “baby steps” though thinks the focus is in the right direction. American Airlines Cargo is aiming for a 75 per cent penetration rate by the end of the year, and Oxentine is confident that the airline will achieve this. Its official global penetration rate was 69.8 per cent at the time of conducting the interview. Oxentine says she has come into cargo at a good time, saying: “There is a good outlook for 2018 and I’m excited to be part of the team and I’m really focused on meeting all of our customers to build on the relationships to continue to be successful in 2018.”
ECS creates synergies in the Americas
ECS Group is investing heavily in the Americas, expanding its presence across countries in the region, chief executive officer Adrien Thominet tells Air Cargo Week. Speaking at the Air & Sea Cargo Americas conference on 2 November, he explained that ECS has invested in six South American countries organically and has acquired Canadian firm, Exp-Air. Thominet says: “America has been growing a lot, we have had new contracts like Air India, which is very good for us because it has five stations with online flights and we have representation in Canada and South America.” “We can create synergies between the countries. America is benefitting from being a major hub country and the market is very good. The USA has had about a 12 per cent increase since last year so everything is going fine.” In Central and South America, ECS has expanded its presence into Mexico, Brazil, Columbia, Peru, Chile and Ecuador being the general sales agent of Qatar Airways, which is flying freighter aircraft in the region. Exp-Air joined the group in July, and is proving to be an important asset by representing 25 airlines. Thominet says: “It
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is a very nice combination with the rest of the network in the Americas. The head of Exp-Air, Danny Olynick, we gave him the management of the USA as well. We are immediately creating synergies between the countries.” Thominet says the market is strong, saying: “The airlines continuing to consider outsourcing so our plan is to increase our network by opening new offices. We are considering to enlarge the set up in cities like Detroit, Philadelphia and in Texas. The synergies between the companies is far better than expected so it is really interesting to see how we can find synergies between the countries.” Thominet believes the main issue facing the American market is rate levels are very low, though volumes are strong. He says: “I think are carriers need to have the full coverage of the Americas, the airlines were looking for local GSAs but now they need commitment from a full country level.” ECS’s key airlines include AeroMexico, which has a joint venture with Delta Airlines. Thominet says: “For AeroMexico it is very important to have a GSA as good as Delta on a full country level, they want us to be good everywhere.” “All airlines expect the GSA to provide guarantees on a full country level, which is difficult in the Americas because it is complicated to be strong on the West coast, the East coast, in the South, this is one of the challenges we have.”
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Virgin and Delta’s LHR pharma traffic set for bright future
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he new joint Virgin Atlantic Cargo and Delta Cargo Pharma Zone at Heathrow Airport is already paying dividends for both belly carriers. The facility was opened in September and developed in response to customer requirements and to support the growing pharmaceutical volumes moved by both and to capture further pharma business on the world’s busiest pharma trade lane – the US to the UK. Among innovative features are walk-in pods to maintain 2-8°C and 15-25°C temperature ranges for loose pharma shipments, a temperature-controlled storage system for 24 pallets with six separate chambers, and a dedicated cargo door to speed up the flow of shipments through the warehouse. Speaking to Air Cargo Week as part of a media tour at the Pharma Zone, Virgin Atlantic Cargo managing director, Dominic Kennedy (pictured right) says the new facility, coupled with the growing ties will drive pharma freight for both and bookings are already up for pharma traffic at Heathrow. Between them, Virgin and Delta operate 28 daily non-stop services from Heathrow to the US, serving Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York Newark, New York JFK, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington DC, Detroit, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, and Philadelphia. “We are well positioned with the amount of capacity that we collectively offer and we are now just short of a quarter of capacity, which is either a Delta or Virgin aircraft,” Kennedy explains. In the first half of this year, Kennedy says Virgin’s pharma tonnage grew by 20 per cent and he expects this to increase as it continues to invest in, and develop, facilities like the Pharma Zone as well as GDP processes and training across the network. Joining Kennedy at Heathrow was Delta Cargo vice president, Shawn Cole (pictured left) who says the new facility will help grow its pharma traffic into Heathrow and on the trade lane. He says the dedicated pharma facility at Heathrow is an important addition to its global pharma network and, most importantly, provides customers and pharma manufacturers access to another major international gateway. Cole notes the power of the partnership of being co-located in London, but also in Atlanta, JFK and Boston, is that both carrier can jointly highlight the “uniqueness” of both brands which will drive pharma business. Cole adds: “Both brands are complementary and we have a lot of commonality in how we can harness that as a value proposition and that is what we have with the Pharma Zone and we are constantly learning from each other to better improve to safely and securely move freight from point A and point B.” He says in Atlanta, Delta recently improved its pharma offering and although it is nothing quite as innovative as at Heathrow, further pharma facility investments at other US hubs is something Delta is looking into for high demand lanes.
More joint cargo projects could also be on the horizon in the future and Kennedy says cargo teams from both carriers have been talking regularly over the last few months about what the next phase of the partnership will look like. “It is really exciting and next year it will see us moving closer
to achieving ultimately metal neutrality so we are thinking about how we can cross-sell, remove seams, align our products and achieve a seamless customer proposition, which is one of the main strategic focuses in the next year,” Kennedy says. Cole echoes Kennedy’s thoughts and says both are looking to “break apart the value chain” to create more value in the partnership to benefit the customer, which “ultimately what it is all about”. He adds: “We want to make sure we are listening to them.” Delta has strategic partnerships with various carriers and along with its 49 per cent stake in Virgin, it has a 10 per cent stake in Air France-KLM, 3.5 per cent in China Eastern Airlines, 49 per cent equity in Aeromexico, a 9.5 per cent interest in Brazil-based airline GOL and stakes in Alitalia and Virgin Australia. Cole adds: “One of things customers I have talked to and they asked about was Delta that has a vast network, but with our equity and JV partners what are we doing to activate them and Pharma Zone here shows that. We are going to deliver through our partnerships across the board.” Virgin and Delta certainly look well positioned to expand their transatlantic pharma traffic.
Certifications
Kennedy says Virgin is on track to gain Wholesale Distribution Authorisation (WDA) certification in the UK by the end of the year to confirm its GDP compliance. In July, Delta was awarded IATA CEIV Pharma certification corporately and at its Atlanta operational hub and it is looking to gain CEIV at more if its US hubs. Cole notes: “CEIV is something we challenge ourselves to achieve and we are the only US carrier to have that and something that the customers wanted as well. “It is quite rigorous to get that certification so the team focuses on what we need to do to improve processes across the board. We achieved that in Atlanta and the goal is to get it in other places as well starting with JFK and Los Angeles.” Delta and Virgin are co-located and operate warehouses under ‘one roof’ at Heathrow, Boston, JFK and Atlanta and Kennedy says it is definitely looking to expand this concept in the future. He adds: “Delta provides handling for us in other stations and we are handled by Delta in Seattle. It is something we constantly review, but there are in some cases unfortunate physical constraints such as warehousing capacity but it is something we are committed to with an aspiration of being one roof in North America.” On co-location, Cole says it is all about how the carriers can focus operationally and commercially to make sure processes are integrated. He notes they are always looking to learn from each other to seamlessly deliver what the customer wants. “We are quite happy with the one roof concept and see a lot of value in continuing to strengthen that,” Cole adds.
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TRAINING
Demand rising for air cargo training courses
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SA is seeing increasing demand for its air cargo training courses. TSA runs over 200 training programmes focused on aviation security including air cargo, in-flight and airport supplies and the transportation of dangerous goods, most of which are also available online. TSA also runs associated skills and awareness courses, available online. TSA director, Patricia Setrakian says: “Demand is being driven by all parts of the transportation sector and their requirements to perform to the regulators
minimum accepted criteria for operations. The regulators in aviation security, for example, are trying to ensure integrity of the supply chain. “Therefore shippers, forwarders, handlers, road transport companies, airlines and integrators of these services as they grow and maintain the required levels are driving this demand. In addition, known suppliers and in-flight and airport suppliers are required to follow suit. “Quality of service and their associated management systems and not just compliance are also driving demand for training.” Setrakian says training is a major factor in a number of industry issues - including security, compliance and performance efficiency. “Everyone involved in the supply chain must be aware of the current security threats and the air cargo industry is not immune to this,” she adds.
Efficient training is vital to performance and Setrakian says effective training of staff is “paramount” to identify, address and avoid security and safety incidents, while also mitigating against the dangers of complacency. She explains: “In terms of performance efficiency, a well-trained work force will understand what the operational needs are and the most efficient way to achieve this. Training provides staff with the tools to be able to undertake their job competently and confidently.” Setrakian notes in times of increased security, safety awareness and regulations - the importance of training cannot be overestimated. She says increasing numbers of companies see the need for high quality training, not just looking at it as a tick in a box, but as part of the “holistic approach” to staff development. TSA has been a pioneer in development of
online training for air cargo security and despite some having reservations of the online method, it has overcome these through a modular approach to courses allowing for a combination with the classroom for some clients. Setrakian says: “However, we have always ensured we do not offer training online just for the sake of it. Some areas are fully suited to the online training platform we offer but some due to their complexity or their regulatory requirements, still need to be offered in the classroom.” Setrakian says effective training can save companies money and liability and can be a great investment both in overall efficiency. “Many companies are starting to see this, we think air cargo, in particular, is moving towards using training as a unique selling point for the specific company’s service offering,” Setrakian adds.
The market is driving the need for training
MDG Consulting managing director, Marco Del Giudice says the training of staff in the industry is a “fundamental requirement”. Effective training is arguably now more critical than ever due to the focus on specialist products like pharmaceuticals, dangerous goods and other sectors. He says: “The market is demanding more and more professionalism and training. In the pharma industry it is mandatory that all stakeholders involved in the pharma transport must be GDP trained and IATA is demanding this as well for CEIV Pharma. “I think this trend will grow more and more also in other market segments, referring to perishables for example.” Del Guidice notes the continuous classroom training is costly due to the environment, the teacher and the people that need to attend days for such trainings. The MDG Academy offers e-learning sessions on its own platform, specifically for the GDP requirements in air, road and sea transport, which he says has many advantages. “First of all due to the extreme flexibility the people can attend whenever and wherever they want, they need only a PC, tablet or smartphone and an internet connection. “Secondly the videos are not boring and in video-pills. The participant can stop and continue whenever he wants. The final multiple choice answer test is the guarantee that the person understood the contents and the unique certificate is demonstrating the positive result of the test.” The company started principally with GDP guidelines applied to the air, road and sea transport, but it is soon planning to expand its offered course list also to other areas in
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the transport sector and in many different languages. He says running such training courses is challenging: “Building such an automated platform is challenging, you need to invest in data integrity, testing methods and new technologies in order to capture the interest of the participant. “MDG has chosen to invest in its own platform and not to outsource the courses because we believe in a one-stop shop. The biggest challenge is to develop course material that is easy, not boring and efficient in terms of handing over specific knowledge.” Del Guidice says there has been challenges in running CEIV Pharma training: “The major challenge is to sensitise the participants why we need to maintain the product integrity (and therefore the cold chain) during the whole transportation. “All of us are not only actors of the airfreight Industry but also patients and therefore final users of medical products. It is vital that this message comes over during the course and that the awareness of the problem is growing as well.” The Italian company looks set for a bright future. Del Guidice says: “Big global players have their own e-learning platforms because they have high needs of continuous trainings, all other companies are outsourcing this service in order to reduce the involved costs and cut unnecessary investments.”
TRAINING
Cool chain courses proving a success for IAG
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AG Cargo is seeing strong demand for cool chain training courses it has been running in partnership with Exelsius focused on upping supply chain standards. The two-day course at the ‘GDP Academy’ aims to improve industry compliance to GDP standards for healthcare and life science products – an ever-growing sector for airfreight. The two-day course offers a combination of both classroom training and an airport ʻairsideʼ visit to the IAG Cargo Constant Climate Centre at Heathrow Airport. Participants come from forwarders, logistic service providers, training organisations and ground handling (GHA) companies with students being awarded a certificate of completion to the required GDP standard. IAG Cargo’s global head of pharmaceuticals and life sciences, Alan Dorling (pictured) says the courses are open to the entire supply chain so they benefit
High priority for KLM
everyone in the industry for the greater good and are not about profit making. “Five or six years ago this industry was the subject of a lot of talk saying the standards at airports for cool chain were not high enough. That opinion has changed and standards have improved,” he says. “The courses also give IAG integrity and shows we represent a high standard of quality and meet all regulations,” he adds. Dorling believes the courses also give IAG the chance to be in tune with the latest cool chain challenges as it gets into good discussions with the supply chain through people on the courses from forwarders, shippers and other parts of the chain. IAG has a global training manager and Dorling says it constantly makes sure staff are trained on new legislation and requirements at its three main hubs at Heathrow, Madrid and Dublin, while at its 106 GHA stations it encourages them to attain GDP certification. Dorling says this all fits into where the industry is heading in creating end-to-end standardised pharmaceutical trade lanes where shippers have the assurance of quality and the risk is mitigated across the lane.
He notes demand is increasing for air cargo to move vaccines, insulin and high-end cancer drugs that requires specialist handling and knowledge, which the GDP Academy teaches. IAG and Exelsius have run six workshops so far - two a year – four in the UK and two in India with between 18-20 people on each, meaning about 115 have been trained on the courses. Dorling says there are no plans to increase the number it runs despite strong demand as each one takes extensive organisation and preparation. However, he says there could be opportunities to run courses in the US in future, which is soon to introduce new legislation for handling cool chain freight in line with GDP standards, while he adds he is sure there will also be more demand for IATA CEIV Pharma certification.
TRAINING is one of the top priorities for KLM Cargo as part of its goal to be the globe’s number one cargo carrier. KLM Cargo manager of compliance knowledge, Gert Mijnders (pictured) says training is now such an important tool within the industry and it “certainly” is for KLM Cargo. Mijnders explains: “We cannot afford a lack of training. It is highly unthinkable not to train staff properly and at the same time to demand an effective and performance.” For KLM Cargo, training is vital in providing a quality service and Mijnders says its aim is to be “world’s best airline on safety” and in order to achieve that, training programmes should all be at a high quality level. He notes: “That is the only way to achieve well-trained staff and a high quality product. In all our training the content is only delivered by subject matter experts who work with and knows exactly what the quality standards are. “These quality standards are based on four major topics, which are security, flight safety, occupational safety and craftsmanship.” Mijnders says to drive operational efficiency all training is up to date to make sure that changes within the rules and regulations are known immediately by staff. “Furthermore we use the online learning method to inform our staff as quickly as possible and to be consistent. To drive the performance we think it is better to have personal interaction and that’s why our basic training are always classroom trainings. Refreshers are online-based trainings,” he says. Mijnders says the biggest need for training is coming from KLM management themselves, but he notes it also comes from regulators who require that staff are trained to be compliant to the rules and regulations within different sectors such as safety, security and craftsmanship. KLM Cargo runs online and classroom-based training sessions and for cargo staff it runs different training programmes based on their job function. He explains: “In general you may say that office staff must fulfill the security and safety programme. Operational staff also have to do training like pharma handling, drivers licence, DGR, and ULD build up.” “KLM introduces the KLM Compass. This programme is also called ‘Moving Your World’ with the purpose to create memorable experiences,” Mijnders adds. He believes training is as important as ever in the airline industry: “Training becomes more and more important, especially in the airline industry. Authorities require that staff are aware and act upon security issues - ‘see something, say something’.”
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DUBAI Emirates helps create first e-commerce free trade zone
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mirates SkyCargo has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Dubai CommerCity – the first free zone dedicated to e-commerce in the Middle East and North Africa region. The airline will work with Dubai CommerCity to develop new solutions for the global e-commerce sector, a growing vertical for the air cargo industry worldwide and Emirates SkyCargo says it is working with stakeholders across the supply chain to identify the best methods to add value to the e-commerce business. The MoU was signed by Emirates divisional senior vice president for cargo, Nabil Sultan (pictured right) and Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority (DAFZA) director general, His Excellency Dr Mohammed Al Zarooni (left), in the presence of Emirates Airline and Group chairman and chief executive officer, His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum (centre). Sultan says: “Every day Emirates SkyCargo transports a large volume of e-commerce shipments as part of our mail or general cargo offerings. We are progressing to the next step where we cooperate more closely with e-retailers with the ultimate aim
of getting products to customers even more quickly and cost effectively.” He adds: “Dubai CommerCity, with its focus on e-commerce, can be an ideal platform for us to develop and roll out new solutions as well as technology that can be used to improve the speed,
efficiency and safety of e-commerce shipments.” Zarooni says the partnership will be a major boost to the strategic goals of making Dubai CommerCity and unified platform for government, administrative and customs services and logistics to help meet the needs of the e-commerce sector. He says: “The cooperation between Emirates SkyCargo and Dubai CommerCity will enable us to strengthen Dubai’s position as a global hub for e-commerce operations and provide a value-added logistics experience, which in turn, can drive the growth of both parties.” Dubai CommerCity is a joint venture between DAFZA and wasl Asset Management Group, which was launched in October 2017 with the aim to strategically promote Dubai’s position as a focal point for international e-commerce and retail. Emirates operates a fleet of over 260 wide-body aircraft, including 14 freighters. Emirates SkyCargo has developed products for specific industries including Emirates Pharma for pharmaceuticals, Emirates Fresh for perishables and Emirates SkyWheels for high value automobiles.
Africa gains extra flights
EMIRATES has upgraded services to Africa with extra flights to Tunis, and plans to increase frequencies to Algiers, Lagos and Abuja. Tunis services were upgraded from six a week to seven from 30 October, with the extra flight operating on a Monday using a Boeing 777-300ER. The flight adds 23 tonnes of cargo capacity in each direction, with popular goods including fruit and vegetables, fresh and frozen seafood, electronic equipment, truffles and dates. The inbound service EK747 will depart Dubai at 09.20h, arriving in Tunis at 13.15h, while the outbound flight EK748 will leave Tunis at 14.55h, arriving in Dubai at 23.45h. Emirates will be adding an extra flight to its services between Dubai and Algiers, making it a daily service from 13 December. The 777-300 flight will further boost inbound and outbound cargo flows between Algeria and Dubai, and since services were first launched on 1 March 2013, the route has carried nearly 27,000 tonnes of cargo. The airline will increase capacity to and from Nigeria by reinstating its second daily service to Lagos and resuming operations to Abuja with four weekly flights from 15 December. Both routes will use a 777-300ER providing up to 23 tonnes of cargo capacity per flight, giving businesses and traders the opportunity for increasing imports of products including electronic goods, construction equipment and pharmaceuticals, and exports such as fresh produce and perishables. Emirates operated a second daily service to Lagos between February 2009 and June 2016, and daily flights to Abuja between August 2014 and October 2016.
Cargo up 9.1% in nine months CARGO traffic at Dubai World Central (DWC) has grown 9.1 per cent during the first nine months of 2017. DWC handled 704,735 tonnes, compared to 645,698 tonnes during the corresponding period in 2016. Flight movements were down 15.3 per cent to 24,875 compared to 29,380 during the same period of 2016. The airport is home to 23 scheduled cargo operators that fly to as many as 68 destinations around the world, as well as four passenger carriers operating an average of 74 flights a week to 18 international destinations across 12 countries.
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NEWSWEEK
Cargo on the rise at Jet and an integral part of business
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et Airways is carrying more cargo than ever and the belly carrier is set to see this rise further as the Indian market grows and it expands its network and capacity. Speaking on 15 November to Air Cargo Week in London when the carrier launched its third daily Boeing 777-300ER flight from Mumbai International Airport to Heathrow Airport, chief executive officer, Vinay Dube (pictured) hailed the importance of freight to the airline’s performance. He explained: “I see air cargo as an integral part of the business. We have got an air cargo market, which is growing between India and the UK and have a base of cargo domestically that is growing in India and to the Far East, Middle East – where ever you look at it. 2017 has been a good year for cargo and we have seen good growth in many sectors. “This particular route to London Heathrow has a 777, which is a thing of beauty when it comes to cargo and we have got a lot of lift here and that adds goodness to this route. Whenever we think of flying
anywhere, cargo is an important component in the planning process and what aircraft you deploy is extremely important as well. “And with the 777 plenty of cargo is coming in to the UK and we now have about 100 tonnes daily to London, which is a lot of capacity. We are doing well on it.” Along with the third Heathrow flight, Jet has also started a daily Airbus A330 service between Bengaluru and Amsterdam boosting its cargo traffic into the Netherlands, enhancing its cumulative daily capacity to Europe by as much as 15 tonnes facilitating increase in trade of commodities such as flowers, perishables, pharmaceuticals, heavy machinery, garments, electrical and medical equipment, auto parts as well as exotic food items. The carrier has also started an A330 daily service from Chennai into Paris, further boosting its European cargo traffic. The new service will boost cargo capacity by up to 17 tonnes, strengthening its presence in India and European markets. Dube said a range of sectors are performing well across its route network: “The cargo team said perishables, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, ready made garments, leather products via Paris, London and Amsterdam are going on to the US and LATAM, Benelux, Germany and France. Cargo is doing well for us.”
Jet operates to 41 cities in India and about 20 internationally and is likely to expand its network, although Dube says it is happy for now and looking to concentrate on its current expansion. Dube explained: “It is not always an aim or ambition to say we are going to fly to new cities. For example, when it comes to London we had a choice of we could add another Delhi to London, or create a new Bangalore to London, but we chose to have a third Mumbai to London frequency and part of that was because of the slot availability. “In terms of the Far East we could take a new flight into Jakarta in Indonesia, or we can try and connect Bangalore with Hong Kong, or have a double daily from Mumbai to Hong Kong. “The net result of the growth is we will be flying to new destinations, but we will also be doubling down on the frequency within an existing route pair as well.” Dube said due to the combination of network expansion and demand for capacity, Jet has recorded a more than 40 per cent growth in air cargo tonnage in 2017. “It is a very exciting time for us with air cargo, which has done well. In terms of Indian cargo there is no question it is doing well,” he said, although there are no plans for freighters, as he added: “We are fine with our bellies.”
Yusen buys Romania’s Tibbett
YUSEN Logistics has extended its business in Central Eastern Europe with the acquisition of Tibbett Logistics. The Japanese company has reached agreement to acquire Tibbett, which is a subsidiary of UK-based Keswick Enterprises Group. No financial figure of the deal has been announced. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval by the Romanian authorities. Tibbett was established in Romania in 2010, and has grown in contract logistics, warehousing, transport and intermodal sectors. It has a head office in Bucharest and 15 strategic locations nationwide, the company controls over 116,000 square metres of warehousing and employs more than 1,300 people. In addition, Tibbett also manages the Bucharest International Rail Freight Container Terminal (BIRFT). The company is offering services in multiple major market sectors, but with a particularly strong position within the retail and automotive industries. Yusen says the acquisition provides it with access and insight into the Romanian market as well as a well-established regional network of warehousing, intermodal and trucking operations run by an excellent team of professionals in Romania. This it says will allow current and potential customers to benefit directly from comprehensive high-quality logistics services for their current and future opportunities in this fast-growing region. Yusen Logistics Europe CRO, Shoji Murakami says: “Our customers will benefit by receiving logistical solutions for their opportunities in this attractive market. We are therefore also delighted to welcome our new colleagues in Romania and look forward to our cooperation.”
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