ACW 7 January 19 by Azura International

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The weekly newspaper for air cargo professionals No. 1,013

7 January 2019

What does 2019 hold for airfreight? Part II

All it took was a smile

Page 8

INSIDE NEW YEAR, A NEW 737

ATRAN Airlines has started the new year by taking delivery of a Boeing 737-400BCF, enlarging its fleet to four freighters. The additional aircraft will ... PAGE 2

767 JOINS LATAM CARGO FLEET

aris-based GSSA ECS Group started 2019 with a wide smile on its corporate face when its new Total Cargo Management (TCM) project with Bangkok-based NokScoot came into effect. The GSSA has been contracted by five-year old Thai low cost carrier NokScoot to develop the airline’s air cargo operation. The relationship came into effect on January 1, 2019 and is initially for a three year duration. The airline operates a fleet of B777 aircraft. Established in 2014 as a joint venture between Singapore Airlines subsidiary Scoot and Nok Air of Thailand, NokScoot is a low-cost airline with ambitions to spread its footprint in Asia with the introduction of additional destinations in North and South Asia as well as China and India. “It’s a wonderful partnership and we’re extremely proud of it,” says Adrien Thominet, CEO, ECS Group, which represents hundreds of companies in over 47 countries worldwide through its 147 offices. “We have been completely seduced by this company’s identity and won over by their boldness and energy. I have met the management and they

LATAM Cargo has taken delivery of its first Boeing 767-300BCF to operate on routes in South America, Central America and Europe ... PAGE 3

are very nice, very professional with the right chemistry. “The combination of NokScoot’s very strong network with wide-bodied aircraft and that of ECS Group, allows us to consider many opportunities for the airline in the Asia market and beyond. We are building on what we have done with TCM for JetStar,” he says. Thominet predicts that most of the airfreight carried by NokScoot will be e-commerce traffic out of China to its Bangkok hub, from where ECS Group will enable worldwide connections through the many airlines it represents at Bangkok. “We were a little weak in North Asia but working with NokScoot will bolster us enormously. We see expansion for this medium-seized airline. One of the outstanding positives is their acquisition of further wide-bodies.”

40,000 tonnes

Based Don Muang International (DMK) airport in Bangkok, NokScoot operates over 49 flights per week in Asia, to China, Japan, India and Taiwan. ECS

Group will market, among others, the following routes: Qingdao, Nanjing, Taipei, Tianjin, Shenyang, Xi’an, Tokyo Narita, Osaka and Delhi. Thominet: Completely Yodchai Sudseduced by NokScoot’s hidhanakul, CEO, boldness and energy NokScoot, says: “Air cargo is now becoming more and more important in our operation, with greater contribution to our revenues, and the partnership with ECS will enhance our freight business.” The airline’s expansion plan over the period of the three-year TCM contract awarded to ECS Group, should see the airline generate more than 40,000 tonnes of cargo per year. This will significantly increase its income, believes Sudhidhanakul. The move also works to bolsters ECS Group’s wider and more medium-term plans and ambitions to expand further into the Chinese airfreight market in the future, adds Thominet.

A LOOK BACK AT AIRFREIGHT

ACCORDING to Stefano Baronci, director economics, ACI World: “Over the past year, the air cargo sector has shown remarkable resilience .... PAGE 4

K+N EXTENDS PHARMACHAIN

KUEHNE + Nagel has opened a dedicated pharma and healthcare warehouse, one of the largest within its KN PharmaChain network close to .... PAGE 5

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Alibaba to make Hong Kong a smart hub

S ! e g a P t n o r F Hold the

enior executives from Alibaba Group and Airport Authority Hong Kong have expressed their commitment to jointly build a global smart logistics network to foster more inclusive trade. A smart logistics hub will be built in Kwo Lo Wan at Hong Kong International Airport. In June this year, Alibaba Group’s logistics arm Cainiao Network was awarded the right to develop and manage the hub, with the view of developing it into a world-class digital logistics centre in Asia, serving cross border e-commerce and strengthening Hong Kong’s international competitiveness. The hub occupies a site of 5.3 hectares, with an estimated gross floor area of 380,000 sqm. Scheduled to commence operations in 2023, the hub will be future-proofed, with high design specifications for large-scale, cutting-edge robotics and automation as well as temperature-controlled features. The companies expressed their commitment to the venture when Jack So Chak-kwong, Airport Authority chairman (pictured second right, and Fred Lam, Airport Authority CEO (first right) met with Jack Ma, executive chairman of Alibaba Group (second

New year, a new 737

left) and Angel Zhou, president of global business at Alibaba Group (left) in Hong Kong on 12 December. Hong Kong International Airport has been the world’s busiest cargo hub for eight consecutive years, and the development of the hub will take advantages of opportunities from cross-border e-commerce as well as for temperature-controlled products such as pharmaceuticals.

Volga-Dnepr signs MoU with Cainiao Network

Each week, we will bring back to life an ACW front page and look at what was making news that week. This front page is from 7 November, 2005.

n 2005, China was opening up to Western industry and beginning its transformation to the economic powerhouse it is today. Express air freight provider TNT Express took a 10-year lease on two B747-400ER aircraft to operate a new direct service between Europe and China. The two freighters, the largest ever to be operated by TNT, will be added to the fleet in November 2006 and June 2007. In 2016, the company was acquired by FedEx. Elsewhere, the giant new A380 aircraft touched down for the first time at a major cargo airport when it arrived at Frankfurt on 29 October. The passenger version of the aircraft holds 38 standard LD-3 containers, while the A380 freighter version would have a 10,400km range with a full 150-tonne load. Of course, none have ever been produced or are likely to run off the assembly line. Even the commercial future of the A380 is now uncertain. The third front page story in this issue looked at how SAS Cargo had signed an agreement to take over the

entire c a r g o capacity on the c o m plete network of Swedish carrier Sterling Airlines. The deal ended up adding around 30,000 tonnes a year more to the European capacity of the Scandinavian airlines’s cargo operarion, SAS Cargo. On 29 October 2008, Sterling filed for bankruptcy and ceased operations due to the rising fuel prices in the first half of 2008 and the Icelandic financial crisis in October that hit its major investor.

ACW 07 JANUARY 2019

ATRAN Airlines has started the new year by taking delivery of a Boeing 737-400BCF, enlarging its fleet to four freighters. The additional aircraft will support growing cargo volumes, particularly e-commerce shipments, which constitute a major part of Atran’s traffic. The 737-400BCF will be deployed on existing routes between Russia, the CIS and Europe to transport mail and express goods. Dmitry Obsharov, general director for Atran Airlines says the 737400BCF is ideal for mid and short-haul distances, saying: “With an additional freighter in our fleet, we will be able to cater to the needs of our customers in the most effective manner, guaranteeing speed, schedule integrity, and much-needed capacity in the market.” The freighter can carry up to 23 tonnes of cargo within a flight range of 3,700 kilometres. It is equipped with a maindeck side cargo door and a loading system enabling it to stow 11 standard aviation pallets and containers in the cargo compartment.

DGR digital portal opened

LUFTHANSA Cargo has become the first airline to make an application available for digital creation of transport documents required for dangerous goods. The DGD.online service supports shippers and can be used for shipments sent via air, road and sea. The developers, using input from pilot customers, focused on achieving a user-friendly application with validation and convenience features designed to add value. Boris Hueske, head of digital transformation at Lufthansa Cargo says: “With DGD.online, we are further expanding our digital offering and striving to make it as easy as possible for our customers and partners to use electronic services. In this way, we can all leverage the potential that digitisation has to offer and make air cargo handling even faster and more efficient in the future.” DGD.online can be used to generate electronically signed dangerous goods declarations and send them automatically, complete with attachments such as safety data sheets. Forwarders and other logistics providers can be digitally integrated into the handling process, facilitating paperless cooperation. The integrated validation and convenience features can help accelerate processes and prevent costly errors.

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VOLGA-DNEPR Group has signed a memorandum of understanding with Alibaba Group’s logistics arm, Cainiao Smart Logistics Network to strengthen cross-border shipments. With the boom in e-commerce worldwide, the two companies will form a partnership for different joint projects in cross-border trade. The airline guarantees access to its network and fleet of 41 aircraft, while Cainiao will use Volga-Dnepr as its preferred carrier for capacity and logistics services. The two companies will develop an optimal schedule route network in Asia, Europe and Russia by optimising transportation processes, including ground handling and road feeder services to cut transit times. Tatyana Arslanova, vice president of strategic management at Volga-Dnepr Group says: “The future of air freight is in the e-commerce sector with customers becoming more tech-savvy, internet-driven and demanding in terms of delivery services. The key to success of winning this lucrative market lies in the ability provide fast, fully digitalised and transparent services with the support of reliable partners, such as Cainiao Network.” James Zhao, general manager of Cainiao Network says: “We are delighted that Volga-Dnepr Group becomes our strategic partner to beef up air freight capability of our global smart logistics network, enabling merchants and brands – especially small and medium enterprises – to access more efficient cross-border logistics services.”

Qatar Airways takes 5% share in China Southern QATAR Airways has acquired 5% of China Southern Airlines by completing an on-market purchase of A shares and H shares. His Excellency Ali Shareef Al Emadi, chairman of Qatar Airways says: “Qatar Airways regards our shareholding in China Southern Airlines as an important part of our strategic investment in the largest airline in one of the world’s fastest growing aviation markets.” His Excellency Akbar Al Baker, chief executive of Qatar Airways Group says: “Given the complementary strengths and resources of each of China Southern Airlines and Qatar Airways, there are opportunities for us to work together and build a long term relationship in ways that would bring benefits to customers of both airlines.” The deal supports Qatar Airways’ strategy which already includes 20% in International Airlines Group, 10% in LATAM Airlines Group, 49% in Air Italy and 9.99% in Cathay Pacific.

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B767-300BCF joins LATAM Cargo fleet

WORLDNEWS THE 787th Boeing 787 Dreamliner to come off the production line has been delivered, and will be operated by China Southern Airlines. The aircraft, which sports a special logo to commemorate the production milestone, was delivered to AerCap. China Southern operates 10 787-8s and 8 787-9s. The airline first ordered 10 787-8s in 2005 before ordering 787-9s in 2016. LARS Krosch has been promoted from the role of vice president sales and product development at time:matters to managing director and chief operating officer, responsible for operations and finance. The 48-yearold succeeds Andreas Vetter who took over the vacant COO position on an interim basis.

ATAM Cargo has taken delivery of its first Boeing 767300BCF (Boeing Converted Freighter), to operate on routes in South America, Central America and Europe. The group will receive a second freighter this year with a third joining the fleet in 2020 as part of the company’s strategic plan to replace 777Fs with 767-300Fs. Andres Bianchi, CEO of LATAM Cargo says: “This new addition to our fleet strengthens our presence in Latin America by reinforcing our cargo operation and supplementing our passenger network. This aircraft, together with the other two B767BCF that will be delivered over the next two years, clearly attests to LATAM’s com-

Cargolux links Hong Kong with Mexico City

CARGOLUX Airlines International has opened a new transpacific route to connect Hong Kong with Mexico City twice a week. The flights were launched on 10 December, leaving Hong Kong on Saturdays and Mondays, arriving in Mexico City on Sundays and Tuesdays. The Monday flight includes a stopover in Guadalajara, the country’s second most populous municipality. The inaugural flight on 10 December had 120 tonnes of cargo on board, which Cargolux says bodes well for the connection that carries commodities including garments, mobile phones and accessories, as well as electronic appliances. Kevin Shek, vice president Asia and Pacific for Cargolux says: “We are delighted to have added another transpacific connection out of Hong Kong. Mexico is a rapidly growing economy and serving it directly from East Asia will enable for faster and more efficient exchanges of goods.”

ATSG to acquire 20 767-300s

AIR Transport Services Group (ATSG) will acquire 20 Boeing 767-300 passenger aircraft from Jetran to convert them into freighters. The aircraft are operated by American Airlines, were manufactured between 1993 and 2003 and are all powered by General Electric CF6 series engines. ATSG plans to modify 6 767s this year, up to 9 in 2020 and no fewer than 5 in 2021. ATSG’s leasing subsidiary, Cargo Aircraft Management (CAM) will purchase, manage freighter conversion and lease the 20 aircraft. ATSG has also signed an agreement with Amazon to lease and operate 10 additional 767s, to extend leases on 20 767s already operated and extend the operating agreement through which ATSG’s airlines operate the aircraft in the Amazon Air network.

mitment to the region’s cargo markets.” LATAM Cargo says the 767F will allow the airline to better adjust its itineraries to the size and seasonal fluctuations of the South American cargo markets and give greater flexibility in terms of routes and operating frequency. In 2018, LATAM opened 32 routes to new destinations including San Jose in Costa Rica, Boston, Las Vegas, Pisco in Peru, Rome, Lisbon and Tel Aviv. New cargo routes were opened between Miami and Brussels, Brussels and Montevideo, Amsterdam and Madrid, Madrid – Guarulhos – Santiago, Miami – Antofagasta – Santiago, and a Bogota – Huntsville service.

Menzies renews cargo contracts

MENZIES Aviation is continuing to expand across Europe with the renewal of cargo handling contracts. At Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Menzies Aviation renewed cargo contracts with two key customers in 2018. FedEx renewed its ramp and cargo contract for daily freighter services into Schiphol, while Kalitta Air renewed its ramp handling contract. Menzies also provides Kalitta Air with cargo handling services at Schiphol, helping to improve the efficiency of operations. Forsyth Black, CEO of Menzies Aviation says: “Our renewed contracts with cargo customers FedEx and Kalitta highlight the success of our new Cargo strategy and the great work our employees deliver to customers on the ground, demonstrating that Menzies Aviation is the leading premium brand in the aviation services sector.”

Flights to China drive growth at Frankfurt-Hahn CARGO volumes at Frankfurt-Hahn Airport have grown rapidly helped by cargo flights from China supporting the One Belt One Road initiative. Between January and October, air cargo volumes were up 58.4% compared to the previous year. Since early December, Frankfurt-Hahn has been connecting Europe with China, with the first flight from Shanghai operated by Suparna Airlines using a Boeing 747-400 Freighter. The new routes are part of an airfreight agreement concluded by China Aerospace International Holdings (CASIL) to distribute Asian goods for Europe via Frankfurt-Hahn and vice versa. Christoph Goetzmann, chief operating officer of Flughafen Frankfurt-Hahn says: “The new cargo flights to China are an important step in further expanding the cargo business at Frankfurt-Hahn Airport. With its 24-hour operating permit, flexible slots and fast handling, Frankfurt-Hahn Airport is ideally positioned for the freight business and a backbone of the German export industry.”

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EMIRATES will operate daily Airbus A380 services between Glasgow and Dubai on a temporary basis from 16 April 2019. The A380 will replace the twice daily Boeing 777 service from 16 April to 31 May while the southern runway at Dubai International Airport is closed for upgrade works. Double daily services will restart on 1 June with the A380 operating on the first flight of the day, and the 777 on the second. IAG Cargo will return to the Pakistani market when British Airways starts services to Islamabad from June 2019. The service will run year-round, three times a week from London Heathrow and provide customers with 15 tonnes of capacity per flight on the Boeing 787-8. GUNTER Schmarl has taken over management of Gebruder Weiss’ branch in Hall, Tyrol. He succeeds Hannes Mayr who has taken over management of the Region West at Gebruder Weiss. As branch manager, Schmarl will be responsible for the three Gebruder Weiss locations in the Tyrol area: Hall, Worgl and Innsbruck with about 250 employees. As regional manager West, Mayr is responsible for the regions of Tyrol, Vorarlberg and Switzerland. CEVA Logistics has appointed Gianclaudio Neri as managing director of its Italy cluster. Neri will be based in Milan and report directly to CEO Xavier Urbain. He succeeds Christophe Poitrineau who is leaving CEVA to pursue other career opportunities. Neri has more than 30 years of business experience in Italy including at gas retailer 2i Rete Gas, returning Intermarine to profitability, and significantly improving returns at Piaggio, allowing it to IPO in 2006. VINCI Airports will take a 50.01% stake in Gatwick Airport in a transaction worth £2.9 billion, which is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2019. Global Infrastructure Partners will continue to manage the remaining 49.99% interest in Gatwick after the transaction closes. Gatwick’s senior management, including chairman Sir David Higgins, CEO Stewart Wingate and CFO Nick Dunn will continue their roles, along with other key managers. SAUDIA Cargo is offering 60 tonnes of cargo capacity a week to Calicut International Airport in the Indian state of Kerala on daily Airbus A330 passenger flights. Four flights a week operate from King Abdulaziz International Airport and the other three flying from King Khalid International Airport. RHENUS Logistics has agreed to acquire Italian logistics company Cesped in a deal signed on 17 December. The acquisition, which will be formalised following approval from antitrust authorities, while support Rhenus’ development of its European road freight network. CARGO volumes at Changi Airport fell by 1.3% year-on-year in November to 189,200 tonnes. On a year-to-date basis, cargo volumes are up 1.9 % to 1.97 million tonnes.

ACW 7 JANUARY 2019

AIRPORT BUSINESS

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E K K E

A look back at airfreight in 2017 monitor and be cognisant of

Was 2017 the best-ever year for these threats and downside risks. For instance, the full airfreight? Only time will tell but impact of the erected tariff walls set by major econoAirports Council International mies such as the US and China, which unfortunately (ACI) thinks it might have been materialised in the recent

ccording to Stefano Baronci, director economics, ACI World: “Over the past year, the air cargo sector has shown remarkable resilience to the tense climate that has descended over international relations and trade. The link between aviation and global macroeconomic conditions remained strong in 2017, despite the prolonged period of diplomatic and market instability that the industry has witnessed. “As key industry players, we must constantly

days, is yet to play out before our eyes. Trade wars could potentially have a recessionary consequence on the global economy thereby jeopardising advances in air transport and cargo demand in particular.” While recording the safest year ever on the record for aviation, the air transport industry continues to play a major role in global economic activity and development of communities despite some global challenges. In 2017, its air cargo activities continued to sustain economic growth in all regions.

Despite the continuing impact of protectionism and trade wars on international air transport services, the world’s airport industry showed remarkable resilience in the face of ongoing global trade and political tensions in 2017 after a 2016 marked by cyclical recovery in manufacturing and a rise in business confidence, according to the 2018 ACI World Airport Traffic Report. “The core issue for our industry remains how we respond to this demand at a local, national, and international level as physical capacity considerations and potential bottlenecks in air transport infrastructure pose challenges in accommodating future air transport demand. To help to ensure communities continue to reap the social and economic benefits of air service growth, national policy should be focused on facilitating growth over the long-term, setting out clear objectives for their aviation sector.” In 2017, air transport set a record for another year when 118 million tonnes of cargo moved through airports, an encouraging increase of 7.7% from 2016. The most significant growth in terms of volume was in the US and China. Total air cargo volume at the 30 busiest cargo airports grew 7.3% in 2017. These airports handled a combined 62 million metric tonnes of cargo, representing 52% of all global air cargo volume. Hong Kong leads the ranking with five million metric tonnes of cargo handled in 2017, a 9.4% increase over 2016.

Two decades in airfreight Over the past two decades, the air transport industry has faced significant challenges. In the mid-1990s, ACI’s data shows that the industry was in a tailspin, experiencing stagnant passenger and cargo traffic, huge financial losses and mounting debt levels. Despite a recent revival in the air cargo market, which was fuelled by a strengthening of global trade and the US economy, the air cargo industry has remained relatively sluggish from a long-term historical perspective. Until late 2013, air cargo volumes barely exceeded the volumes seen in the pre-Great Recession era and they remained flat from 2010 to 2013. Some of the weakness in the air cargo market over the past decade can be attributed to a loss in market share to other competing modes of freight shipment, such as ocean freight. Notwithstanding, ongoing recovery in certain key economies helped stabilise the air cargo market by the fourth quarter of 2013. A rapid rise in volumes was especially evident in 2017. Business confidence has remained strong and resulted in inventory build-ups and increased export orders in 2017. Despite the backdrop of economic uncertainty regarding trade policies between the

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US and China, two of the world’s largest aviation markets, business confidence persevered throughout 2017. All regions posted robust growth in cargo volumes. Spurred by strong gains in cross-border trade, Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America—the largest markets— experienced overall cargo volume increases of 8.6%, 8.3% and 7.1% respectively.

Cyclical recovery International trade and industrial production continued to make gains as a result of the cyclical recovery in the global economy, which translated into growth in air cargo volumes. Inventory build-ups, augmented export orders and a strengthening of consumer demand— reflected in increased online purchases—are important drivers in the near term. Lastly, as a result of maritime industry consolidations and bankruptcies, a temporary substitution of ocean cargo by air cargo in 2016 and 2017 also helped to boost air cargo volumes in the short term. Due to the reliability and swift delivery associated with shipments by air, air cargo remained a viable option, especially where consumer demand for high-tech goods and perishables remained buoyant. Similarly, express parcel deliveries generated by online purchases were also an important driver of the upward surge in air cargo shipments. Online retail giants such as Alibaba and Amazon continued to grab hold of their logistical operations by setting up regional hubs. While Alibaba centres its logistical operations at airports in China and now Malaysia, Amazon has selected strategically located airports in North America—such as Cincinnati/ Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) in the Midwest—as hubs for its operations.

A look ahead According to the WATR, air cargo, which had a particularly strong year in 2017, will moderate to lower growth levels in the near-term in tandem with the peak in the global business cycle. The Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) in cargo for the period 2016-2021 is projected to be 4.9%, increasing overall volume by nearly 31 million tonnes and bringing total cargo volume to 140 million tonnes by 2021. However, downside risks are omnipresent in the near term. Ongoing trade wars, mostly resulting from the US shifting diplomatic approach, have received criticism from the international community. A shift back to more liberal economic policies and openness to trade could very well attenuate the adverse impacts that are projected.

PHARMACEUTICALS

Reynolds to keep an eye on quality

KN PharmaChain comes to Ljubljana

uehne + Nagel has opened a dedicated pharma and healthcare warehouse, one of the largest within its KN PharmaChain network close to Ljubljana Airport in Slovenia. The new facility will carry out the distribution of finished products worldwide and will be used for the storage and distribution of production materials for the pharmaceutical industry. The distribution centre complies with the highest security standards and state-of-the art technology to increase current operational capacities. The facility provides an area of 38,000 square metres, a capacity of about 65,000 pallet loca-

LYNAYE Reynolds has been appointed worldwide director of quality at Peli BioThermal, having successfully reorganised the UK Quality Team. Reynolds joined the company in 2015 as the quality manager for Peli BioThermal at its site in Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire. Her role within the company’s worldwide quality processes included leading the site certification to the latest ISO standards of the Plymouth site in the US, alongside playing a key role in supporting the start-up of the

Indianapolis Service Centre. David Williams, president, Peli BioThermal says: “Within a short period of time, after first joining the company, Lynaye re-organised the UK Quality Team and has continued to be a key contributor in our ongoing success. Lynaye’s expertise and enthusiasm has made her a valuable member of the BioThermal Senior Management team and in her new role she will continue to play a pivotal part in our global quality operations.”

GDP for Cargogate at Munich Airport tions for reception, storage and distribution of temperature-sensitive products and includes three cold chambers to handle temperature requirements of 15-25C and 2-8C. Gianfranco Sgro, member of the managing board at Kuehne + Nagel International responsible for contract logistics, says: “The pharma and healthcare Industry is among the most important growth drivers for Kuehne + Nagel. Therefore, it is of strategic importance to further strengthen our integrated KN PharmaChain network. The cutting-edge facility in Brnik is a cornerstone in this ambition and enables Kuehne + Nagel to offer its unique pharma solutions to an extended customer base.”

CARGOGATE has been awarded GDP Pharma certification, making it the first company at Munich Airport to pass the milestone. The GDP (Good Distribution Practice of Medicinal Products for Human Use – 2013/C 343/01) is a European standard for handling medical products. The certificate was awarded to Cargogate by audit company DQS in September 2018. Claudia Weidenbusch, managing director, Cargogate says: “We are delighted to have a certificate that demonstrates our continued high standards. This not only shows our excellent working practices as a Ground Handler but also our commitment to the patients who receive

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the pharmaceuticals. We are a reliable link in the supply chain that keeps these medicines effective.” Cargogate serves as a strategic partner to handle temperature controlled containers for Envirotainer, with Weidenbusch commenting: “Together with these containers and our GDP-certified facilities and standards we ensure delivery of the best possible service to our customers.” Cargogate has been a subsidiary of Munich Airport since 1974, and functions as a service provider for airlines who do not maintain their own warehouse facilities at Munich Airport.

ACW 07 JANUARY 2019

AIR CHARTER

Air Partner has busy year delivering aid

ir Partner’s Freight team had a busy year in 2018, delivering relief goods and humanitarian aid around the world. Missions included flights between Europe and Libya, Yemen, various African countries and from the US to the Mariana Islands in the Pacific. A large bulk of the activity took place during the typhoon season and in response to Typhoons Mangkhut and Yutu, for which Air Partner coordinated the transport and delivery of more than 2,000 tonnes of relief cargo from the US to Guam and Saipan. In September, Air Partner was contacted by Radiant Global Logistics to assist with the safe and speedy delivery of supplies to Guam in preparation for Super Typhoon Mangkhut. A number of AN-225 and AN-124 flights moved

urgent relief supplies, including water and ready-to-eat meals. Wiley Knight, irector of humanitarian aid for Radiant Global Logistics says: “Through the support and quality of service that Air Partner provides, we were able to successfully complete these projects within 24 hrs after the storm passed. Our partnership and the absolutely essential understanding of rapid response is exactly what we needed to fulfil our missions.” The following month, in the wake of Super Typhoon Yutu, Air Partner was tasked with delivering a wide array of aid supplies and heavy duty equipment to rebuild the island of Saipan. More than 30 Boeing 747F and AN-124 flights were completed in less than 30 days. Air Partner stationed a member of its team in Guam to personally coordinate the organ-

isation, delivery and upload of all cargo from the appointed freight forwarder of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Mike Hill, director of freight at Air Partner says: “In times of crisis, we are the trusted part-

ner for a wide range of clients. During a year of such devastating natural disasters, my thanks goes to the Freight team for their tireless efforts to get much-needed aid to those desperately in need, as quickly as possible.”

ACS aims to be a billion dollar company AIR Charter Service has had a record month in November with revenue of £61 million, beating the previous best of £52 million. Justin Bowman, ACS CEO describes this as an “outstanding achievement by the whole team” with substantial growth across the main divisions of cargo, private jets and commercial aircraft. He says: “To reach £61 million in one month – which is equivalent to $77 million – is remarkable, and a huge step in the direction of our next goal; to become a billion dollar company. We are not resting on our laurels though and know that there is a lot more hard work to do as we go into 2019, with three more office openings in the next few months.”

Bowman adds: “This landmark month, combined with the opening of a number of new offices, means that 2018 has been an extremely exciting one for everyone involved at ACS.”

20 days at sea or a 7 hour flight? VOLGA-DNEPR Airlines and Kintetsu World Express France have moved a motorised pump in a matter of hours, saving the customer a long wait compared to using sea freight. The 40 tonne Alstom motorised pump travelled on a charter flight from Paris-Vatry airport in France to Dammam, Saudi Arabia onboard an Antonov AN-124-100. The pump flew seven days after the initial charter request was received from the customer, and it will be used as a spare part to replace an unserviceable unit. Volga-Dnepr’s load planning team advised on the correct preparation of the shipment, which including removing sea freight packaging and fitting shackles and eye bolts to secure the cargo during the flight. Ekaterina Andreeva, deputy commercial di-

ACW 7 JANUARY 2019

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rector at Volga-Dnepr Airlines says: “The whole delivery took six hours and 45 minutes whereas with sea freight transportation the customer would have waited 20+ days. Our experience and efficiency in handling every charter request as well as the expertise of commercial team, gives Volga-Dnepr a unique advantage in the market.”

TRADEFINDER Airlines

Industry Publications

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USA

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ACW 7 january 2019

7 03/01/2019 12:14

HE PRETENDS TO KNOW WHAT HE’S TALKING ABOUT

What does 2019 hold for airfreight?

The second part of our forecast for what this year might hold for airfreight AS ALWAYS, it’s very difficult to predict how the air cargo industry will perform during the next twelve months given the ever changing geo-political and economic landscape. However, CHAMP believes that the air cargo community will continue to search for better means in managing their business through the adoption of new technologies and IT SaaS applications. Technology platforms will enable the community to share critical information more seamlessly as well as using data to provide better insights

and data driven decision making. In order to remain competitive, the industry needs to be agile and able to adapt their offerings to suit specific market conditions. The right technology partners help achieve this. As well as continuing to enrich existing products, CHAMP Cargosystems is broadening its portfolio in several fields, most notably in the areas of data analytics and services that provide better visibility on business performance, and, in 2019, APIs to facilitate the interaction with external applications and IoT devices.

Pharma is in good health in 2019

PELI BioThermal expects the Pharma market to continue to grow and has carefully positioned itself and its services over previous years to be primed and serving the higher growth segments within the market. Business planning decisions to abstract our service models from trends in air freight where demand continues to outstrip supply are expected to yield dividends over the next couple of years. We are firmly optimistic about 2019. Brexit is more of a challenge for our manufacturing business than the services sector but we have monitored and planned accordingly and consider ourselves well prepared. In all, 2019 will bring significant expansion in trading volume and we welcome the growth. Dominic Hyde, Peli BioThermal vice president Crēdo On Demand

Furthermore, the CHAMP Innovation Team is exploring using natural language, IoT real-time monitoring and augmented reality to build addi-

Not as bullish as 2017 for LHR cargo

I REMAIN optimistic for Heathrow’s cargo volumes in 2019, with a slight year-on-year growth ahead of the Chinese New Year. At this point, it is difficult to say what the impacts on cargo the UK’s departure from the EU will mean, however I expect forwarders will be adjusting their routing to deliver as promised. We’re continuing our cargo transformation programme with the first projects due to complete late in 2019. I look forward to providing shippers with an improved offering, ensuring forwarders experience timely and predictable services at Heathrow, and other stakeholders find it much easier to operate here. I’m greatly encouraged by the level of engagement we’ve had with our local stakeholders. Overall, my estimation is that 2019 won’t be as bullish as we experienced in 2017, but will be slightly improved on 2018.

Nicholas Platts, head of cargo, Heathrow Airport Limited

tional value for our customers’ customers. CHAMP remains a strong leader in cargo software and forecasts double digit growth for next year. CHAMP will continue to expand its community of customers. And it will heavily invest in its solutions to further support its clients to satisfy their customers' needs and to evolve in the digital world. Some of CHAMP’s expansion plans include providing services to the shippers. This will be done by capitalising on CHAMP’s worldwide digital reach, through current and new portals, APIs and regulatory-based community services, and Single Windows. These services will enable and

facilitate global trade opportunities "We anticipate the key drivers for our industry to remain constant. This includes increasing transparency and collaboration among the key stakeholders in our community and further adopting new technologies that increase efficiencies both from a commercial and operational side. 2019 will continue to be a year of focus on how new technologies can be adopted by our industry and community in further digitising and facilitating trade," says Arnaud Lambert, CEO, CHAMP Cargosystems.

Nicholas Xenocostas, VP commercial and customer engagement, CHAMP.

Main deck optimisim

S far as the cargo development at Munich Airport is concerned, we are very optimistic for the year because there are currently no signs of a slowdown in the economy on the one hand and on the other hand and we will expect a large increase in capacity at Munich Airport in 2019. Brexit will not have a noticeable impact on Munich Airport’s cargo business since the exchange of goods with the UK is mostly trucked. Lufthansa is going to further strengthen its Munich hub: A new route from Munich to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi is to be introduced. Daily flights with an A350-900 will commence on 1 June 2019. In addition, the Frankfurt-Osaka Kansai route will be moved to Munich as of 30 March 2019. An A350-900 will be used on the daily service. American Airlines will introduce new connections to Dallas and Charlotte. The airline will commence a new route to Charlotte with the start of the 2019 summer timetable. An A330-200 will be used for the service. A new destination in Munich Airport’s route network is to be added: Dallas/Fort Worth.The connection will be offered daily with a Dream-

liner B787-800 from July to the end of October 2019. Dallas is also a major hub for connections to South and Central America. The additional flights to the US will mean far more cargo capacity for the American market. And, the multi-national LATAM Airlines Group will add Munich to their European network starting in the 2019 summer season. Four times weekly, a 767-300 will take off to the group’s São Paulo hub. The frequency on the Munich–Seoul Incheon route is to be increased. The number of flights will increase from six to seven per week starting on 31 March 2019. An A350-900 will likewise be used for them. The frequency on the Munich–Singapore route is also being increased. An A350-900 service will fly six instead of five times a week as of 31 March 2019. The route from Munich to Chicago O’Hare is also being expanded. An A350-900 will take off 13 times a week instead of 10 from 31 March 2019. We are also optimistic to strenghten and increase the main deck sector in 2019. Markus Heinelt, director traffic development cargo Munich Airport

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