ACW 8 January 18 by Azura International

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The weekly newspaper for air cargo professionals Volume: 21

Issue: 1

8 January 2018

AMAZON PRIME AIR HITS TURBULENCE

war of words between pilots that fly for Amazon’s Prime Air delivery service and Atlas Air which provides maindeck capacity for the on-line retailer failed to ground its operation over the US holiday period. In November, Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo had won an injunction against the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Airline Division, and Local Union No. 1224 (collectively, the IBT) to make the IBT meet its obligations under the US Railway Labor Act and stop its “illegal and intentional work slowdown”. The IBT retaliated with a viral video campaign in the run up to Christmas which it claimed highlighted “the intensifying staffing and operational issues at their airlines and the gruelling conditions faced by pilots at Amazon’s network of contracted cargo carriers.” The video ran on Facebook and Instagram, targeting US consumers nationwide with links to a website the union said outlined issues that Prime Air-contracted carriers are facing. The pilots say the problems could spell trouble for their airlines’ growing commitments to

DEMAND REMAINS ROBUST ACROSS ASIA PACIFIC WFS AND LATAM ACHIEVE IATA CEIV AT MIA the e-commerce giant and the future of Prime Air. Teamsters Local 1224 executive council chairman and Atlas Air pilot, Captain Robert Kirchner says: “Many of us are Prime members ourselves and we want Prime Air to succeed. But years of substandard pay and working conditions at Amazon Prime Air’s contractors are prompting our veteran pilots to leave in droves, and our operation is stretched so thin that some of us spend as many as 20 days a month away from our loved ones.” In response, Atlas Air Worldwide senior director of investor relations, Dan Loh, says: “There is no dispute with Prime Air. This is a matter between Atlas Air and the IBT, the

union that represents our pilots. “We are fully staffed to meet our customers’ expectations and are indeed delivering for our customers – as we were and as we did during the important peak season.” Loh adds that the union’s stance has been part of an overall campaign by the union to put public pressure on the company with respect to the next labour contract. He says: “We did seek and were granted an injunction this past November. We continue to negotiate with the IBT with respect to the next labour contract. “We remain committed to completing the bargaining process in a timely manner and in the best interests of all parties.”

Bombardier Challenger makes its final journey to Nuremburg

A Bombardier Challenger 604, D-AMSC, made its final journey on December 19, 2017 aboard an Antonov 124 maindeck aircraft. The flight, from Muscat in Oman to Albrecht Duerer International airport, Nuremberg, Germany was arranged by FAI Germany. The company had purchased the aircraft for parting out. Formerly operated by Munichbased operator MHS, the 604 had made an emergency landing at Muscat International Airport in January 2017. FAI, Germany’s largest business jet operator, acquired the aircraft after it was released by the investigating authorities. Its fuselage was declared irrecoverable by Bombardier, because the aircraft had been exposed to 3.5 G during the incident. Heavy turbulence was incurred as a result of an Airbus A380 crossing the aircraft’s airway. Engineers from subsidiary FAI Technik removed part of the wings and the tail before its final journey to FAI´s base in Nuremberg.

HYDE TAKES OVER PELI CREDO ON DEMAND SERVICE

STRONG GROWTH TO CONTINUE FOR AIR PARTNER

WELCOME TO 2018 AIR Cargo Week is 20 years old this year. This is a significant milestone that simply cannot be ignored. That is why ACW will be producing commemorative material in June to mark its arrival back in May, 1998. Editorial and advertising staff will work to bring the past back to life as well as providing the best air cargo media platform going forward. ACW editor James Graham says: “I would be interested in hearing from air freight people all over the world who were working in the industry in 1998, when the newspaper was launched. “Perhaps you had just started and are now a seasoned 20-year professional? Or you might have been mid-career in the late 1990s and are now thinking of retiring? Either way we would love to hear from you.” When ACW launched, businesses could still invest in Francs in France, the internet was a mystery to many and the EU Single Market lay in the future. A lot has changed but air freight remains a ‘people’ industry. This first issue of the commemorative year sees the launch of ACW ReWind, a feature where news items from the early days will be reprinted. Readers with memories to share can email james.graham@azurainternational.com

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NEWSWEEK Hyde takes over Peli Credo on Demand service

eli BioThermal has appointed Dominic Hyde (pictured left) as its vice president of its rental service, Credo on Demand. Hyde brings more than 23 years engineering expertise and leadership experience to Peli BioThermal having previously held positions of managing director at va-Q-tec and chief executive officer of Envirotainer. The Credo on Demand rental programme offers high performance, flexible rental options for temperature controlled pallet shippers and its ongoing worldwide expansion follows the launch of service centres offering conditioning and repair of passive bulk containers in Puerto Rico and Belgium in 2017. At least 12 more centres will be opened in key locations in 2018 including Tokyo, Seoul, Mexico City and San Diego. This will be in addition to the launch of new drop off hubs for passive temperature controlled containers at over 50 new locations spanning Europe, Asia and the Americas. Peli BioThermal president, David Williams (pictured right) says: “Dominic is the right leader for our expansion of Credo on Demand

in 2018. His experience is proven for successfully growing rental programmes for temperature controlled pharmaceutical distribution worldwide. We’re excited he has joined our team to lead this important global growth initiative.” Commenting on his appointment, Hyde says: “I am very excited about my appointment and delighted to lead the development of Peli’s global service business. They have developed a product portfolio I believe is capable of achieving new levels of cost efficiency and performance.”

FedEx flies Francesca to Oklahoma

A 26-year-old female endangered pygmy hippopotamus, named Francesca, is enjoying her new home at Oklahoma City Zoo thanks to a charity airlift by FedEx. Transport from Francesca’s previous home at San Diego Zoo was provided at no cost to either institution by FedEx as part of its

“Delivering for Good” initiative. She joins Wolee, a 43-year-old male pygmy hippo, at the zoo’s pachyderm habitat. Wolee has called the OKC Zoo home since 1999 and is the oldest pygmy hippo in a United States zoo accredited by the US Association of Zoos and Aquariums. “Hippos are an iconic part of the OKC Zoo’s legacy and we’re excited for Wolee to have a new companion in Francesca.” says Kevin Drees, director of animal collections. “Transporting animals from one location to another safely is a critical but costly endeavour. We are so grateful to FedEx Express for its logistical expertise and exceptional team members who brought Francesca to the OKC Zoo.”

ACW REWIND

THIS YEAR, Air Cargo Week is 20 years old. In the summer, we are producing a special commemoration of the anniversary. To begin our celebrations, we are going to publish some stories from past issues until our anniversary. We start off with a look at how we reported on the Millenium some 18 years ago.

Lufthansa ends old millenium at Hong Kong Vol 3, Issue 1 10 January 2000 A LUFTHANSA Cargo flight, LH8468 from Frankfurt, was the last arrival of 1999 at Hong Kong International Airport. The aircraft landed at 2226hrs, just 94 minutes before the midnight hour, as the world was holding its breath and simultaneously downing quantities of Champagne. The airport’s first arrival of 2000 was a British Airways cargo flight from London Stansted, which touched down safely at 0031hrs - obviously not having dropped out

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of the sky at midnight as many had predicted. From 2200hrs on 31 Dec to 0130hrs on 1 Jan, the airport reports that 16 flights, all with out Y2K incidents

WHILE MANY may have thought it had already happened, airline entrepeneur and one of the UK’s most newsworthy businessmen, has been given a knighthood. Richard Branson, was made a knight in the Queen’s millennium honours list on the recommendation of British prime minister Tony Blair.

Lobsters continue to fly from Halifax

illions of dollars’ worth of Nova Scotia lobster and other seafood products will be shipped overseas once again during the holiday season. Halifax International Airport Authority (HIAA) chief commercial officer, Bert van der Stege says it is a traditionally busy time of the year, explaining: “By the end of the month, we estimate $30 million in lobster will have been shipped from Halifax Stanfield in December alone. We anticipate the same high level of activity during the first month of 2018, as demand for Nova Scotia lobster is strong during the Chinese New Year holiday celebrations.” Throughout the holiday season seafood products will be sent to all parts of the world from Halifax Stanfield International Airport. Carriers transporting seafood include Air Canada, ASL Airlines, Atlas Air, Cargojet, DHL, FedEx, Korean Air Cargo and Qatar Airways Cargo. The value of cargo exports is up 10 per cent versus last year and 2017 is expected to become another record year for Halifax Stanfield’s cargo business. The increase is driven by high-value, high-demand seafood products like Nova Scotia’s world-famous lobster, notes van der Stege.

“We see our role as facilitating Nova Scotia exports to global markets, hence the need to continue to invest in facilities and grow the value of exports. As an example: every single Boeing 777 freighter contributes $1.5 million to our local economy,” he says. HIAA has submitted a funding application with the federal National Trade Corridors Fund in an effort to gain access to financial support that would allow the airport to continue its growth and support of the cargo logistical chain. The development of the proposed Halifax Stanfield Air Cargo Logistics Park would connect commercial and logistics businesses in Atlantic Canada to air cargo opportunities spanning the globe.

NEWS WEEK WORLDNEWS

THE Indian arm of Air Charter Service has moved to new premises in Mumbai in order to accommodate the company’s growth plans in the region. The new office is more than twice the size of the previous workplace, giving the company sufficient room for further development. Last year there was a marked increase in terms of the number of charter contracts for ACS India. The Indian office has grown consistently since it opened in 2012. AIA Cargo in partnership with CHAMP’s Traxon cargoWEB+ system has implemented the first stage of its new on-line booking portal service. The system is fully managed and controlled by AIA staff who decide which functions are to be offered and which clients has access to which function. The self-registration of a customer for access is fast and easy. Some of the features include: bookings, overview of products, rates and surcharges, FWB/FSU messaging, shipment tracking, flight schedules, and routing and availability.

Demand remains robust

AIR cargo in Asia Pacific has remained robust in November with growth of 9.2 per cent in freight tonne kilometres (FTK), the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) reports. The association says solid expansion in new business orders, underpinned by strong demand from advanced economies helped support growth in air cargo volumes for the region’s airlines. FTKs were up 9.2 per cent to 6.4 billion, with capacity in freight available tonne kilometres (FATK) increasing 4.7 per cent to 9.3 billion, and the freight load factor rose by 2.9 percentage points to 69.4 per cent. Demand in FTK has risen by 10 per cent to 64.3 billion between January and November, with FATK up 4.3 per cent to 98.9 billion, and load factors rising 3.3 percentage points to 65 per cent. AAPA director general, Andrew Herdman (pictured) says: “2017 is expected to end on a positive note for both passenger and cargo traffic given current trends.”

Airbus to change management

AIRBUS has announced major changes of management with Fabrice Bregier stepping down in February 2018 and Tom Enders following in April 2019. Enders, the chief executive officer (CEO), has advised the board of directors that he does not wish to seek another term beyond his current mandate, which runs until the 2019 Annual Shareholders Meeting. Chief operating officer and Airbus Commercial Aircraft president, Fabrice Bregier does not intend to be part of the selection process for the role of CEO, and will step down in February 2018 to pursue other interests. CEO of Airbus Helicopters, Guillaume Faury will succeed Bregier as president of Airbus Commercial Aircraft, and the board will assess CEO candidates in 2018 with the intention of announcing a successor to Enders at the 2019 Annual General Meeting. Enders says it has been a privilege to work at Airbus but feels the company needs a leadership change, saying: “We need fresh minds for the 2020s. In the coming 16 months, I will work with the Board to ensure a smooth transition to the next CEO and a new generation of leaders; I will focus on our business challenges; and I will further progress and strengthen our ethics and compliance programmes.”

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ACW 8 JANUARY 2018

PHARMACEUTICALS

WFS and LATAM achieve IATA CEIV certification at MIA

artners at Miami International Airport (MIA) have continued to upgrade pharmaceutical services with Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) and LATAM Cargo both achieving IATA Center of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) in pharmaceutical logistics certification. In April 2017, LATAM Cargo became the first CEIV-certified airline at Miami and in the Americas, and it has now completed its International Air Transport Association (IATA) certification as a ground handling company. WFS and LATAM Cargo join Amerijet and Swissport as the four CEIV-certified companies at MIA. Swissport’s Miami station was the first cargo handling company at Miami and the first Swissport station in North America to be CEIV-certified. DHL Global Forwarding and Kuehne & Nagel, located off airport property, also received their CEIV certificates in 2017. Miami-Dade Aviation Department (MDAD) chief of staff, Joseph Napoli (pictured fourth from right) says: “Congratulations to WFS and LATAM Cargo for being awarded these internationally recognised seals of excellence in pharma logistics. We appreciate

their dedication and support toward expanding MIA’s role as the Pharma Hub of the Americas.” LATAM Cargo chief executive officer, Andres Bianchi (pictured fourth from left, holding certificate, surrounded by representatives from MIA, LATAM and IATA) says: “As the first airline

CEIV-certified for pharma in the Americas, and now that we’ve achieved this certification as a handler service in Miami, we reaffirm our aim of becoming the preferred choice for cargo transport to, from and inside Latin America. It also reflects our commitment to deliver excellent service to our customers.” In 2015, Miami was designated a pharma hub by IATA for organising nine of its logistics providers to undergo the CEIV programme, making it the first pharma freight hub in the US and the second in the world to receive the global recognition. The airport’s pharma trade has grown in value from $1.8 billion in 2010 to $4.4 billion in 2016. IATA senior vice president for airports, passengers, cargo and security, Nick Careen praised Miami’s leadership and vision in encouraging CEIV certification among cargo operators. He says: “The airport’s commitment to CEIV Pharma is yet further proof of the importance of this certification scheme to raising standards and quality across the cold-chain freight network. By putting CEIV Pharma certification at the heart of their operations, cargo stakeholders will ensure that Miami becomes a destination of choice for these high-value shipments.”

ABC completes multi modal trial with DHL

AIRBRIDGECARGO Airlines (ABC) has completed a multi-modal shipment trial for DHL Global Forwarding to deliver healthcare products from Moscow to Miami using an RKN active cargo container in accordance with Good Distribution Practice (GDP) cool chain standards. For the trial, ABC’s pharma logistics practitioners opted for the abcPharma product using an Envirotainer RKN unit, replacing real vaccines with service water in order to test the delivery process at each step of the transportation and monitor the condition of the water. Together with DHL Global Forwarding Russia, they supplied the RKN unit to the customer’s warehouse and accepted the cargo as a fully built-up unit ready for carriage at its airport warehouse premises. Teams covered delivery, leasing and guaranteed customs clearance for the customer as well as ensuring a minimum transit time and the elimination of temperature risk. On 24 November the trial shipment took off on one of ABC’s Boeing 747 Freighters from Moscow on its direct route to Chicago, where it was met by local ABC representatives, who monitored the offloading and ensured the smooth transportation onto a refrigerated truck to take the ‘vaccines’ to Miami. From Miami, the RKN continued on its journey to Managua, the capital of Nicaragua with another carrier, and though the special container can run on battery power for more than 90 hours and sustain the required temperature range, it was decided to maintain +50C inside the truck to introduce a second safety measure. ABC global director for pharma, Fedor Novikov says: “We are proud to be been given this opportunity to demonstrate the quality of the pharma solutions we can provide and to have earned the trust of our customer for the organisation of vaccines transportation.” “With ABC only developing temperature-sensitive solutions for less than a year, it is a huge achievement to be chosen to provide dedicated lift of healthcare products, which will improve the quality of life for people of the Republic of Nicaragua when we commence the delivery of vaccines in 2018.” The RKN is a certified air cargo ULD container which ensures the integrity of pharma products by maintaining product temperatures in either +2-8C range, in the controlled room temperature range of +15-25C, or at any chosen set temperature within the operating range of 0-20C.

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AIR CHARTER Strong growth to continue following busy year for Air Partner

he end of 2017 proved extremely busy for Air Partner, and director of freight Mike Hill (pictured) is expecting a strong start to 2018. He says the strong growth in the second half of the year came from geopolitical situations and extreme weather creating high demand for cargo charters from all Freight division offices. This followed on from strong first half results with gross profits up 42.9 per cent and underlying operating profits increasing 88.6 per cent in the six months up to 31 July 2017. Demand rising faster than capacity has also been a factor, Hill explains: “IATA reported that traffic in the first nine months of 2017 had risen 10 per cent over the same period in 2016 despite a rise of capacity of only 3.6 per cent, so some of this shortfall is indirectly reflected in the increased cargo charter demand that we have seen during the year.” He adds: “In this last quarter we have also seen the first peak season in quite some time, so securing aircraft capacity on long sectors has been more challenging during the last months of 2017.” Hill says Air Partner, which has its group headquarters at London’s Gatwick Airport, is receiving a lot of repeat business, with a number of sectors expected to remain strong into 2018. He says: “The pipeline is looking strong for the first quarter and we have a number of forward cargo bookings, particularly in the entertainment and sport industries.” The automotive industry continues to be a significant part of Air Partner’s cargo business, especially time critical movements

within Europe and North Africa, and this has remained strong, helped by long-term relations with freight forwarders and logistics companies. Cargo charter remains an unpredictable business, and one thing Air Partner has noticed is forwarders creating specialised departments in certain niche products, such as time-critical, in order to complement their air and sea offerings. Hill says: “We are seeing the forwarding sector in general become more aware of cargo charter and its benefits, despite the perceived high costs.” There has been a surge of new broker companies, which is making the cargo market quite crowded and increasing competition. Hill says: “Some broker companies also are beginning to blur the commercial boundaries of broker/forwarder by working directly with shippers. This may be in response to forwarders sometimes working directly with charter operators as well.” Air Partner will not be going down that route, with Hill explain-

ing: “We, however, are committed to maintaining our close relationships solely with the freight forwarder community and this – along with our global presence and the financial transparency afforded by Air Partner’s plc status – has played a large part in our past success, and no doubt will continue to do so in the future.”

Cherry exports bloom with Qatar Airways charter flights

THE cherry season bloomed again with Qatar Airways Cargo transporting over 1,400 tonnes of Chilean cherries between 13 November and 19 December on charter flights. The carrier operated 14 Boeing 777 Freighter flights from Santiago in Chile, all the way to Shanghai, Guangzhou and Hong Kong via its state-of-the-art Doha hub at Hamad International Airport. This is the second year Qatar Airways Cargo has collaborated with its major customers to transport Chilean cherries on dedicated charter flights. Qatar Airways acting chief officer for cargo, Guillaume Halleux says: “Through our solution QR Fresh, we provide a seamless cool chain for all temperature-sensitive shipments, from their origin airport through to their final destination, thus preserving their quality and extending their shelf life. Our product offering for these shipments complemented by innovative services such as the airside cool chain centre at Hamad International Airport, will definitely boost our business while enhancing the cool chain for temperaturesensitive products transiting through our world-class hub in Doha.” Chilean cherries are in high demand in China and other Asian countries, and the harvest coincides with China’s Lunar New Year. Through QR Fresh, Qatar Airways Cargo offers customers a reliable cool chain solution for their products, and the Hamad facility is fully compliant with IATA Chapter 17 standards. A dedicated Climate Control team proactively monitors every shipment from beginning to end to ensure a seamless transfer, with dedicated cold rooms at the airline’s state-of-the-art fully automated warehouse in Doha, each with various temperature zones for the storage of perishables transiting the hub.

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ACW 8 JANUARY 2018

UNITED KINGDOM

MAG cashes in on Black Friday shopping binge

he UK’s two most important airports for freighter aircraft, East Midlands Airport and London Stansted Airport (pictured), saw record cargo volumes in November as the nation tackled its Christmas shopping early. Black Friday and Cyber Monday also generated large volumes of e-Commerce packages. Stansted Airport’s cargo operation grew 12.3 per cent and East Midlands’s cargo tonnage grew by 29.8 per cent with new routes to the Middle East and America, combined with new capacity for express parcels. In the past year, new cargo routes at London Stansted launched with CargologicAir, Saudia Cargo and Silk Way West to Mexico and North America, the Middle East and Azerbaijan respectively. New cargo routes started at East Midlands

include vital freight hubs as Milan and Madrid. This, combined with expansion of DHL’s hub facility at East Midlands, means that Manchester Airports Group is projecting a record year for cargo at the UK’s biggest pure cargo airport. “The figures show the important role that airports like East Midlands and London Stansted play in delivering our festive goods and presents, as well as exporting our world class manufactured products to customers all across the globe,” says Andy Cliffe, managing director of East Midlands Airport. “The health of air cargo up and down the country is something the Government should be looking to promote in its aviation strategy, which needs to look at improving connectivity and trade links from all UK airports, not just Heathrow.”

Emirates to add Stansted to UK network

THE tech and pharma hubs of Cambridge and Peterborough in England’s East Anglia will benefit when Emirates becomes the first Middle Eastern airline to operate out of London Stansted airport in June, 2018. Daily service will be operated by the new Boeing 777-300ERs, each offering 216 cubic metres (7,640 cu ft) or 44 × LD3 capacity. Outbound, flight EK33 will depart Dubai at 09:30, and will arrive in London Stansted at 14:10. On its return, flight EK34 will depart London Stansted at 21:10 and arrive in Dubai at 07:05 the following day. Opening the London Stansted gateway was a strategic decision by Emirates to serve the thriving business community in northeast London and its catchment area. “The introduction of the new London Stansted-Dubai route not only signifies 10 daily flights between Dubai and three different London airports, but is also welcome

news to businesses based in the Stansted catchment area,” says Laurie Berryman, Emirates vice president, UK. The additional gateway will prove useful to the new start-ups and existing SMEs, which form a growing section of the Cambridge business community. More than 25 of the world’s largest corporations have established operations in the wider Cambridge and Peterborough area, with Airbus, Astra Zeneca and GSK amongst the multi-national companies based there. Such businesses have helped establish the London Stansted Cambridge Corridor as one of the top five global knowledge regions, alongside world-leading San Francisco, Silicon Valley and Boston. Stansted airport will also be vital for Emirates’ SkyCargo, the freight division of Emirates and the world’s largest international cargo airline, due to its large cargo handling capabilities. The carrier connects cargo customers to over 154 cities across 84 countries in six continents and flies 140,000 tonnes of cargo in and out of the UK in an average year.

A deal will be be struck for the UK in the end LHR Global Logistics serves clients in market sectors such as auto, aerospace and pharma and has been frequently asked its opinions and contingencies for Brexit next year, according to sales and marketing director Stuart Jones. Jones says: “During the Christmas period and in readiness for our 2018 strategy meeting, I am completing a short paper for review. “We have two European operations, in Ireland and Portugal, and our operations teams

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will be monitoring the best business practises for our clients. We believe even though the EU ministers are playing hard ball, they will strike a deal which will mean Customs processes will be largely unaffected. “The UK is and will remain one of the largest trading countries within Europe and therefore the EU needs us as much as we need them. That said, we cannot rest on our laurels.” LHR Global Logistics was founded in 2007.

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