GLOBAL A
I
R
C
A
R
G
O
W
E
E
K
MANAGEMENT
A
I
R
C
A
R
G
O
W
E
E
K
WORLD AIRPORTS .COM ACW Digital is sponsored by FREIGHTERS.COM
FREIGH
FR
Tabloid page bled.indd 1
22/02/2018 15:00
The weekly newspaper for air cargo professionals Volume: 21
Issue: 14
9 April 2018
Government accused of risking Schiphol’s future
T
he Dutch aviation industry has published a joint letter condemning the Dutch government’s decision not to provide extra slots at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol until 2021. The letter, signed by industry bodies including KLM, Martinair, Air Cargo Netherlands and Evofenedex has branded the move “premature and careless”, while warning that neighbouring countries “will gladly welcome Dutch passengers and airfreight”. The companies who signed the letter accuse the Dutch government of ignoring measures to reduce CO2 at the airport, fleet renewal, the use of alternative fuels and the money invested in insulating homes near Schiphol from noise pollution. They say: “The government does not seem to pay any attention to all these successful efforts by the aviation sector to further reduce noise and CO2 emissions in the Netherlands.” Aviation in the Netherlands supports 300,000 jobs, contributing €30 billion to the Gross National Produce, and the companies who signed the letter say that every million extra passenger creates 3,000 additional jobs
n
UK GOVERNMENT MUST SPEED UP NEGOTIATIONS 35 YEARS YOUNG AND ACL KEEPS EXPANDING
and every 1,000 tonne of airfreight adds another 15 jobs. The letter warns: “Now the Dutch aviation industry’s significant growth threatens to flow to airports in the surrounding countries.” The signatories urge the government to lift what it calls “this irresponsible blockade”, saying: “the following parties intend to consult urgently with the Minister of Infrastructure with the Minister for Infrastructure in order to quickly reach suitable agreements whereby the
efforts of aviation make it possible to increase capacity at Schiphol in a responsible and sustainable manner.” The letter was signed by the Board of Airline Representatives in the Netherlands, KLM, easyjet, Transavia, Vereniging Nederlandse Verkeersvliegers, TUI, Corendon, ANVR, De Unie, Verenigeng van KLM Professionals, Vereniging Nederlands Cabinepersonneel, Martinair, Air Cargo Netherlands, Evofenedex and Transport Logistics Netherlands.
drone delivery service in Rwanda in October 2016. Since establishing a distribution centre with 15 drones to deliver blood, plasma and platelets to 21 hospitals across the west of Rwanda, Zipline has flown 300,000 kilometres delivering 7,000 units of blood over 4,000 flights. A second distribution centre will be opened in Rwanda to cover the entire country. In August 2017 Zipline announced plans to launch drone delivery services in Tanzania to deliver blood transfusions supplies, emergency
vaccines, HIV medication, antimalarials, antibiotics, lab reagents and basic surgical supplies, with the intention of operation 2,000 deliveries a day. Zipline has also unveiled a new autonomous aircraft, which it says flies farther, faster and with more cargo than before even in high altitude, heavy wind or rain. The new aircraft is part of a complete redesign of Zipline’s logistics system to dramatically improve the system’s launch, autonomous flight and landing capabilities. The redesigned aircraft reduce the amount of time between receiving an order and launching flights from 10 minutes to one, increase the number of daily delivery flights that each distribution centre can handle from 50 to 500 and expand the radius of each centre to service populations of up to 10 million people. The Zipline vehicle is an autonomous fixed wing style aircraft capable of flying at a top speed of 128kmh with a range of 160 kilometres carrying up to 1.75 kilos of cargo.
Zipline to launch medical drone delivery services in the USA ZIPLINE is to work with state governments in the USA to launch medical drone deliveries as part of the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) UAS Integration Pilot Program (UASIPP). The FAA programme in the USA is designed to integrate autonomous, beyond visual line of sight flights over populated areas into the FAA’s National Airspace System. The UASIPP projects are expected to be formally approved in the coming weeks and enter into formal Memorandums of Agreement with applicants by 7 May 2018, with Zipline projects expected to commence operation by the end of 2018. Zipline chief executive officer, Keller Rinaudo says: “In East Africa, Zipline’s drones bring people the medicine they need, when they need it in a way that reduces waste, cost and inventory while increasing access and saving lives. We’ve been hard at work to improve our technology and are ready to help save lives in America and around the world.” The California-based automated logistics company launched the world’s first national
WELSH TO RETIRE AFTER 36 YEARS OF SERVICE
CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS ARE NOT BEING MET
5
7
9
10
Whitehead dies weeks after retiring FORMER chief executive of Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals (Hactl), Mark Whitehead has died in his sleep, weeks after retiring. Whitehead (pictured), who stepped down on 7 March, had been the chief executive of Hactl for eight years before handing over to Wilson Kwong. He died while competing in the China Sea Race. Whitehead was a member of the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club for 35 years and served on the general committee and was commodore from 2014 to 2016. The club says he was: “A force of energy and fun, he was a passionate sailor, spending most weekends class racing on Etchells and also a keen offshore sailor too competing in many offshore races on Orient Express and Straight Up, among others.” It adds: “Our heartfelt condolences go out to his wife Rebecca, children Francesca and Charlie, to his fellow crew aboard Orient Express and to his many family and friends. He will be missed.”
aircargoweek.com
NEWSWEEK Budapest welcomes the return of Silk Way
S
ilk Way West Airlines has returned to Budapest, operating two Boeing 747 Freighter flights a week to the Hungarian capital. After a break of two years, the first flight landed at Liszt Ferenc International Airport on 18 March and the Azerbaijani airline will connect Budapest with its hub in Baku twice a week on Thursdays and Sundays. Having added Vienna and Kiev to its network, the re-launch of Budapest flights is part of the airline’s European expansion with more destinations to follow during the course of the year. Silk Way West Airlines chief executive officer, Wolfgang Meier says: “We have recognised an increasing demand for scheduled services to and from Eastern Europe, which we believe came along with the rise of the ecommerce and tech business in this specific region. “In the spirit of the ancient silk road, we want to facilitate this growth by providing regular shipping opportunities to Central Europe as well as into the booming Middle Eastern and Asian markets with the establishment of this connection.” Budapest Airport director of property and cargo, Rene Droese says: “We are proud to welcome the new cargo flight of Silk
Way West Airlines to Budapest. The new flight creates additional export opportunities for the Hungarian industry, and through the international network of Silk Way West Airlines not only the main cargo hubs of Western Europe become accessible for its partners in industry and logistics, but markets in the Middle East and Asia too.”
Cargolux says konnichiwa Tokyo
CARGOLUX Airlines International has inaugurated weekly flights to Tokyo’s Narita International Airport in the scope of its cooperation agreement with Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA). The weekly service operated in a codeshare leaves Luxembourg on Tuesday evening and arrives in Tokyo on Wednesday afternoon at 16.25. The return flight is routed via Seoul’s Incheon International Airport and Novosibirsk Airport in Russia, before landing back in Luxembourg at 06.15 on Thursday. Cargolux and NCA flights are operated on different days of the week, giving additional market opportunities for both airlines on the Europe-Narita sector while promoting competition between the partner airlines. The Luxembourg airline’s Boeing 747-8 Freighter, registered LX-VCM was welcomed in Tokyo with a traditional water cannon salute followed by celebration events at Narita. Cargolux chief executive officer, Richard Forson says: “Japan has long played an important role in Cargolux’s Far East network and we are looking forward to supporting Japan’s trade lanes to and from Europe.”
ACW REWIND
ACW editor, Ian Martin Jones reported on the construction of Seoul’s Incheon Airport and the handover from Kimpo Airport
Korea ready to launch Incheon Volume 3 Issue 47 27 November 2000 CONSTRUCTION WORK on South Korea’s $1.4 billion Incheon International Airport is almost complete and the country’s national flag-carrier, Korean Air, said last week it would ideally like to start operations at its new international hub on 20 March. But by last Tuesday, as Korea’s president, Kim Dae-Jung opened a new eight-lane expressway linking Seoul to the new airport, no firm date for the changeover of international services from the currently used Kimpo airport had been set. “We would ideally like to move on 20 March, which is a Tuesday with low traffic and no congestion,” a Korean Air spokesman said. Opposing an alternative date of 25 March - the change of seasonal schedules - the spokesman pointed out this was a Sunday and would involve moving operational facilities over a Saturday night when Kimpo was “terribly congested”.
2
ACW 9 APRIL 2018
aircargoweek.com
NEWS WEEK Eight more companies join BRUcloud data platform
B
russels Airport’s cloud-based data sharing platform, BRUcloud has had a successful first two months with eight more companies using the application in their live operations. The slot booking app eliminates the problem of waiting and idle times at ground handling facilities by coordinating the match between supply and demand of time slots, streamlining the pick up and delivery of freight at the ground handler and providing better capacity utilisation and elimination of peaks and idle times. The tool makes it possible for the booker, such as a forwarder to request a single or recurrent time slot at a specific facility via a central web application for all ground handlers. The supplier can make time slots for different cargo types available via the web interface or system-to-system link with its intern slot management system. The app went live on 15 January with seven companies, and by 27 March another eight companies started using the app. After the launch new partners showed an interest in the app; BRUcargo cargo development manager, Sara Van Gelder says: “Over the past months we have had meetings with all interested parties
WORLDNEWS CHAMP Cargosystems has signed an agreement with Cargo Community System Japan (CCSJ) to provide a cloud based air cargo messaging system. The system includes IT infrastructure, an operational messaging platform and customer invoicing. CCSJ is the sole Cargo Community System in Japan connecting all participants in the national airfreight market including airlines, freight forwarders and handling agents.
to demonstrate the application and inform them on how to become part of the user group. This has resulted in eight additional companies using the application as of this moment, while more parties are lined up to do the same in the weeks and months to come.” The companies that joined in January were Aviapartner, WFS, DHL Global Forwarding, Nippon Express, Kuehne + Nagel, Panalpina and IFA Skyfast, and the eight new participants are Saco Group Air, MSE, Bollore, WFS Forwarding, DB Schenker, CEVA Logistics, Yusen Logistics and DSV.
WEST Atlantic will sell two BAE ATP Freighter aircraft to Nairobi, Kenya-based EnComm in a deal that also commits to spares, engineering and training support. The airline decided in 2017 to start marketing the aircraft for dry-leasing and sale, and as part of the transaction, West Atlantic also brokered an additional two BAE ATP passenger aircraft owned by one of the Group’s partners.
Lufthansa to market Brussels’ capacity
LUFTHANSA Cargo has signed an agreement to market cargo capacity of Brussels Airlines from 1 September 2018. Freight customers of Brussels Airlines will benefit from access to Lufthansa Cargo’s route network of 300 destinations in over 100 countries. The route network will be supplemented by destinations in Africa from Brussels, with the Belgian airline operating services to African cities including Dakar, Monrovia, Abidjan and Douala, which will be marketed under 020 AWB. Lufthansa Cargo chief commercial officer, Dr Alexis von Hoensbroech says: “With the in-
tegration of the cargo capacities of Brussels Airlines, the offer for our customers will become even more attractive and even larger. “Brussels Airlines’ African destinations are complementary to our existing network and thus ideally complement our connections.” Christina Foerster, who took over as chief executive officer of Brussels Airlines on 1 April, says: “Lufthansa Cargo has a lot of experience in marketing the cargo capacities of passenger airlines. This cooperation will help us to make even better use of the freight capacities of our fleet. And we, as the European Africa specialist, can add new destinations to Lufthansa Cargo’s offering.” Brussels Airlines is the fifth passenger airline offering cargo capacity in the Lufthansa Cargo group after Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Eurowings and Sun Express. Adding Brussels Airlines will increase capacity by 10 wide body aircraft, going with Lufthansa Cargo’s freighter fleet of 17 aircraft and capacity on Aerologic, its joint venture with DHL Express.
STOP PRESS! THE ARK at JFK has discontinued its lawsuit against the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) pending the outcome of the Port’s new requirements for equine transport.
Read an interview with The Ark founder John J. Cuticelli Jr (pictured right) in next week’s ACW.
aircargoweek.com
ACW 9 APRIL 2018
3
NEWSWEEK Miami gains new link to Hong Kong AirBridgeCargo flies to Rickenbacker
S
outhern Air has become the sixth airline at Miami International Airport to operate cargo flights to Asia with the launch of weekly services to Hong Kong. The wholly owned subsidiary of Atlas Air started operating Boeing 777 Freighter services from Miami to Hong Kong via Anchorage on 1 April. The other airlines operating cargo flights from Miami to Asia are Asiana Airlines, Korean Air and Polar Air all flying to Seoul, Cathay Pacific flies to Hong Kong and China Airlines goes to Taipei. Returning from a week long business development mission in China and Japan, Miami-Dade Aviation director, Lester Sola commented: “We are thrilled to add Southern Air to our growing route network in Asia. As the busiest U.S. airport for international freight, it is especially
gratifying to welcome additional cargo service from Hong Kong, the world’s busiest freight airport.” Hong Kong is Miami airport’s fourth largest trade market in Asia, responsible for more than $500 million in freight annually. In 2017, Miami’s trade with Asia was valued at $7.8 billion, a 16 per cent increase from $6.7 billion in 2016.
RICKENBACKER International Airport welcomed its fifth scheduled freighter service with AirBridgeCargo (ABC) Airlines flying in from Moscow on 5 April. The fast growing Russian carrier is operating weekly scheduled services carrying freight inbound from its hub in Moscow and returning to Russia via Liege in Belgium. Cargolux, Cathay Pacific Cargo, Emirates SkyCargo and Etihad Cargo already operate up to 15 weekly international flights to the airport in Columbus, Ohio and other carriers operate regular, on demand charter services. ABC general director, Sergey Lazarev says: “Rickenbacker’s strengths, such as proximity to distribution centres of various companies, including the fashion and apparel industries; airport and ground handling infrastructure and facilities; and the existing
network of partners in the Columbus Region, ensure we can provide our clients with reliable and efficient service.” Columbus Regional Airport Authority chief executive officer, Joseph Nardone says: “We’re excited Rickenbacker’s advantages have translated to success for our forward-thinking logistics partners, which in turn drives the success of the Columbus Region. Rickenbacker has grown phenomenally during the past five years, and the next five years look even more promising.”
AA Cargo extends GSA network AMERICAN Airlines Cargo has extended its international reach with the appointment of general sales agents (GSA) in Croatia, Slovenia and Kuwait. Specialist Central Eastern Europe and Balkans company R-BAG will represent American Airlines Cargo from Ljubljana Airport in Slovenia and at Zagreb International Airport in Croatia. Al Rashed International Group will represent the airline as the GSA for Kuwait, operating from its base in Kuwait City. American Airlines Cargo regional sales manager, Richard Hartmann describes the companies as “great new additions” to the airlines GSA network. He says: “Both are highly experienced companies with a proven track record in working with exports to the USA. Not only are they looking to send cargo to the US, but they believe there is considerable demand for service to onward destinations across our
network in Latin America.” From Croatia and Slovenia, cargo will be trucked to European destinations served by American Airlines flights and interline solutions for express cargo. Commodities from the two countries will include pharmaceutical shipments and spare parts. Out of Kuwait, widebody interline agreements into Europe to London’s Heathrow Airport, Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, Madrid-Barajas Airport and Rome Fiumicino Airport will connect with American’s services to the US and beyond.
Delta to share Seattle warehouse DELTA Cargo is continuing to co-locate with partners by sharing cargo warehouse facilities with Air France KLM in Seattle. The move will allow more space for cargo capacity and make shipping easier and more convenient for the airlines’ shared customers. The Seattle warehouse has hosted Virgin Atlantic since 26 March 2017 and the ‘One-Roof’ partnership has handled over 1.2 million pounds of cargo with a daily Boeing 787 flight. Delta says the initiative is beneficial not only for the increased cargo capacity but also to help deliver a coordinated cargo operation
4
ACW 9 APRIL 2018
aircargoweek.com
among Delta’s partners and to add employment opportunities at the station. Other stations under the ‘One-Roof’ including at Atlanta with Air France KLM and Virgin Atlantic; Boston with Air France, Virgin Atlantic and Alitalia; Salt Lake City, Minneapolis and Detroit on seasonal KLM services; and New York John F. Kennedy International, Washington-Dulles, Miami and Orlando with Virgin Atlantic. The airline expects monthly volumes of more than 400,000 pounds of valuable cargo to be flown on Delta and newly launched Air France flights between Seattle and Paris.
NEWS WEEK
Chris Welsh to retire after 36 years of dedicated service
A
Chris’s final commitment to the organisation that he has run since its formation in 2011. With the agreement of the Board of the Global Shippers’ Forum, FTA deputy chief executive, James Hookham will take over responsibilities for running the GSF from 1 June 2018. Hookham will also take direct responsibility for the global and European policy team at FTA. FTA chief executive David Wells says: “Chris has been a tireless advocate for the needs and interests of businesses, managing sea freight and air cargo contracts for over 30 years, and I thank him for advancing FTA members’ interests in these modes of transport. “His award of an MBE in 2015 recognises the contribution he has made to keeping British, European and global supply chains safe, competitive and sustainable. I am grateful for the service he has given to FTA over a long and successful career, and wish him an active and happy retirement.” Welsh holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration, is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport, and is a member of the Chartered Management Institute.
fter 36 years’ dedicated service, Chris Welsh MBE (pictured) will be retiring from the Freight Transport Association (FTA) as its director of global and European policy at the end of May 2018. Welsh has spent his career at FTA defending and advancing the interests of importers and exporters (shippers) in their dealings with the world’s shipping lines and airlines. Through his work with the British Shippers’ Council, Welsh has provided an effective voice for the customer in these markets, and has succeeded in making it easier for FTA members to import and export goods by sea and by air. Welsh was awarded the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) honour in 2015 in recognition of his achievements. Earlier in his career, he helped establish FTA’s Brussels office in 1995 and served as the secretary general of the European Shippers’ Council from 1996 to 2002. In addition to his current FTA duties as Director of Global and European Policy, he is also the Secretary General of the Global Shippers’ Forum (GSF) that provides a platform for shippers’ views to be heard by the global regulatory bodies. The GSF’s annual meeting in Melbourne on May 8-11 will mark
Oman to go paperless
MEDIA reports in Muscat are saying that from 15 April, all airfreight documentation in Oman will be activated online. The Times of Oman is citing a statement issued online by the Royal Oman Police (ROP) that the process of attaching airfreight documents will be activated electronically through the Bayan online system, with all paper documents being discontinued from that date. ROP said in the announcement: “The General Administration of Customs announces that starting on 15 April, 2018, the use of paper-documents for air cargo will be discontinued, and will activate the process of attaching air cargo documents electronically via Bayan system. “All offices, clearance and air cargo companies, airlines, importers, and exporters through airport outlets should take into consideration the contents of the declaration,” ROP added in the announcement cited by the Times.
ULD tracking partnership expanded SOLACE and CORE Transport Technologies have expanded their partnership to support real-time tracking for unit load devices (ULD) in the air cargo industry. Building on their 12-year partnership, the two companies offering will help air carriers effectively implement and manage Internet of Things (IoT) devices for improved monitoring, tracking and routing of shipments. Software developer CORE managing director, Ian Craig says: “There is no denying the power of IoT in optimising air carriers’ shipping processes and operations, and Solace provides the secure and scalable messaging backbone needed for what could become one of the largest IoT implementations in the world.” CORE’s software is powered by Solace’s Virtual Message Router in Microsoft Azure and part of the Solace Cloud product that allows logistics companies to effectively synchronise and exchange critical information in real-time, updating users on the status of their deliveries as well as potential problems. The technology is in active roll-out with one the largest North American airlines driving smarter analytics, deeper visualisations and more effective command and control functions to improve transparency of air cargo shipments.
aircargoweek.com
ACW 9 APRIL 2018
5
SHIPPERS FOCUS
Airfreight facing new standards in card payments
S
hippers who settle airfreight costs with a credit card face issues created by new card-payment regulations. At the same time, automated tools can take operators one-step closer to compliance. That is the opinion of UK-based cyber security consultant Titania COO, Nicola Whiting. She says: “Throughout 2017, a spate of major financial cyber-attacks ripped through companies around the word. The exposure in the US of 209,000 Equifax customers’ credit card numbers revealed the vulnerability of digital systems to financial theft and the willingness of malicious actors to target them. In the wake of such attacks, the airline industry has taken action to safeguard itself.” From March, all airlines have been required to adopt the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), the information security standard for securing credit card information against external theft and internal leaks. Originally developed by major credit card companies, PCI DSS outlines both the technical and operational conditions needed to safely handle card data. Every aspect of an organisation that involves the processing of payment information will be required to adhere to stringent security standards to protect that information from cyber-attacks and data leaks. Air cargo operators that fail to comply, risk monetary fines and can even be prevented from processing transactions by card companies.
Air cargo is vulnerable to cybercrime
Air cargo is relatively new to the effects of cybercrime and is at risk of being caught flat-footed when it comes to serious cyber-attacks. The global nature of air cargo also leaves companies vulnerable to cybercrime; shipments often involve data or intellectual property transfer between parties around the world, with data transfers through different computers and networks, offering attackers a plethora of attack vectors to
6
ACW 9 APRIL 2018
strike through. Last year, FedEx’s TNT division was struck by the NotPetya ransomware outbreak that hit its worldwide information systems, costing the company $300 million. The ransomware was able to strike TNT’s legacy IT system that had not been upgraded. As cybercrime increases, the protection of payment systems from breaches and hacks is becoming more important. The scale of transformation that PCI DSS demands is unprecedented. Upgrading vulnerable legacy systems in line with PCI DSS will have a significant financial cost and operational impact on the
aircargoweek.com
business. Operators will need detailed asset inventories and vulnerability management programmes across every part of the business ecosystem dealing with card data, on top of any legacy system updates. Major regulations, from the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) framework to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), are having a major impact on the way businesses around the world operate. To tackle these regulations, advanced ‘smart’ technologies ensure their networks and systems can be rapidly brought in line with regulations and fortified against the latest cyber-attacks.
SHIPPERS FOCUS
UK government must speed up trade negotiations
I
n just under one year, the UK is due to leave the European Union (EU). The UK’s Freight Transport Association (FTA) is urging the British government to up the pace on the negotiation of trading arrangements, or risk damaging integrated supply chains. “Twelve months is a very short time in business terms,” says FTA head of European policy, Pauline Bastidon. “With such a focused timescale, it is unrealistic to expect logistics companies and supply chain managers to wait until the eleventh hour to learn what their new operational arrangements will be and change everything at the last minute. There are too many open questions, when so much is at stake, and if industry is to keep Britain trading, clarity on key areas is needed in the next three months, not 12. “Arrangements for Customs, transport or standards are still unclear, and no solutions to manage borders so that disruptions may be avoided have been agreed yet. Logistics companies and supply chain managers also need urgent clarity on what the UK’s future immigration policy will look like. “The political confirmation of a transition period is a welcome relief to companies, but this needs to be set in stone sooner rather than later. We also need to ensure that industry is provided
Bastidon
with sufficient details early enough to be able to adapt to new arrangements in time. A 21-month transition period is short, and we should not become complacent: urgent clarification and solutions are needed now, and not at the 11th hour, to ensure that we do not face another cliff edge in January 2021.” The FTA is also concerned about the “knock-on effect” of any new arrangements on smaller organisations which may be part of bigger supply chains, but which often have no direct experi-
aircargoweek.com
ence of international trade beyond the EU and EFTA (European Free Trade Area), and for which dedicated support may be required to explain and assist with the new trading situation. Bastidon continues: “Arrangements for aviation are still unclear at this stage. How can business be expected to trade without transport? That needs to be uppermost in the minds of negotiators as they move on to talks about the future relationship with the EU. “Whatever happens, the logistics industry is committed to ensuring that the UK can trade efficiently with its nearest neighbours, and we look to government to support the industry over the coming year in ensuring that Britain can keep trading for the future benefit and growth of the nation’s economy.” With over 17,000 members, FTA represents all of logistics, with members from all parts of the logistics industry, including the buyers of freight services such as retailers and manufacturers whose businesses depend on the efficient movement of goods. Meanwhile, on 6 March, draft EU guidelines for the post-Brexit relationship were published in Brussels. The guidelines confirmed that specific air transport and air safety agreements will be needed to safeguard air connectivity between the UK and the EU. This was welcomed by Airports Council International Europe (ACI-Europe) and the Airport Operators Association (AOA), who jointly saw it as a “welcome step – as this charts the way forward for the future aviation relationship and thus potentially reduces uncertainty for our sector,” they said in a joint statement.
ACW 9 APRIL 2018
7
ULDs
ULDs continue to box clever for airfreight
T
he ULD market is projected to grow to $2.02 billion by 2021, enjoying around four per cent per annum growth in the five years since 2016, according to Dublin-based Markets and Research. It says this market is mainly driven by factors such as increase in demand for lightweight ULDs, growth in international trade and increase in demand for cold containers. However, factors, such as high repairing cost of unit load devices are expected to restrain the growth of this market. Rising aircraft orders will significantly contribute to the increasing demand for unit load devices. The North American region is estimated to account for the largest market share; Asia-Pacific to grow at the highest CAGR
during the forecast period. Major companies manufacture UKDs, including Nordisk Aviation Products AS (Norway), Zodiac Aerospace (France), VRR Aviation (The Netherlands), DoKaSch GmbH (Germany) and Satco (US). The humble Unit Load Device (ULD) is no more. Thanks to the development of the Internet of Things (IoT), modern ULDs are now able to track their whereabouts and condition autonomously. They pass this information on to humans or computers which can see it. The ULD that is being tracked is what generates the transactional supply chain information. This modern IT suggests ULD manufacturing is a young industry. However Palnet managing director Klaus Demtröder notes that some of the industry’s key players go back to the start of
wide-body passenger aircraft. He says: “I have been in this business since 1975, for 43 years. My company was established in 2001. Others such as Nordisk, Satco and Zodiac (formerly Driessen and AluSingen) were established as the first wide bodies came on the market in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. “DoKaSch was established in 1989. I think Fylin from Taiwan in early 2000. Satco could be the oldest. There is a chance for new manufacturers but very limited. It is financially risky as machinery and material cost a lot of money.”
Composite materials
Over recent years manufacturers have switched from aluminium construction to composite materials for ULDs. Pallet manufacture, however, are a “different matter”, says Demtröder. “The containers can be improved as they have been dramatically with the change from aluminium to composite materials. Pallets are a different story. Today’s state of the art is already 40 years old. The size makes it difficult to change from aluminium to another material.” His company is highly automated as Western Europe has high labour costs. His opinion is that manufacturers in places such as China and Bangkok, with much cheaper available workforces, are less automated. When asked by Air Cargo Week how influential airlines are in the design process or whether manufacturers go it alone and airlines simply have to buy what is made, Demtröder has a surprising answer. He says: “I do not believe that the airlines are very influential. The design process is mainly undertaken by manufacturers but this does not mean there are no ideas are coming from airlines. “All in all the manufacturers are the driving forces. This can be substantiated in the technical meetings such as SAE, ISO and IATA.” Considering the current state of the ULD manufacturing sector, Demtröder says: “Cur-
8
ACW 9 APRIL 2018
aircargoweek.com
rent manufacturers have a lot of knowledge and expertise and a long relationship with the aviation industry. I believe most of the mentioned companies will stay for another long period. Only people change from time to time.”
Pooling resources
An informal network of ULD owners and operators three years in the planning became operational in April 2015 to allow for the management of global ULD over and under stocks at member stations. The brainchild of Willem Jan Loomans, a container control manger for KLM, Skypooling seeks to iron out the situations where imbalances of ULD stocking can lead to a surplus or need for ULDs. He says: “About five years ago, I started to contact other airlines’ ULD control department for assistance or to give assistance if they were highly overstocked with AKE ULDs at Amsterdam airport. So with the approval of KLM, I started to build this network privately in my own time. “Skypooling.net is a web-based tool for management of global ULD over and under stocks at member stations. Currently around 90 airlines and ULD companies from all over the world are in this global network as active members, ULD contactors, ULD manufactures, ULD service providers such as leasing companies as sponsors.” Focusing on the airlines’ ambitions to help each other reduce ULD, mostly AKE units, over and under stock levels, Loomans says: “It is not logical to send overstock from station A to the home base and then forward empty ones to station B, while another carrier could forward overstock directly from station A to station B. “Sending empty ULD stock from/to home base means less cargo revenues and/or extra fuel/CO2 costs. “This all on voluntary base, no costs, no contract involved and all lift-ups are on courtesy base. The more airlines in the pool, the more benefits for all. It’s simple as that.”
ULDs
35 years young and ACL continues to expand
U
S-based ACL Airshop took the opportunity of the platform of the recent IATA World Cargo Symposium in Dallas, Texas to reveal worldwide expansion plans and mark its 35th birthday. While not a manufacturer of ULDs, it has developed a “unique leasing model” for the industry. It has a very robust ULD supply chain as a major buyer of those devices every year. At the same time, it manufactures very large quantities of cargo nets, straps, and other cargo control devices. The ULD market has been dominated by a few well-established manufacturers over the past many years. ACL believes there is always a chance for a disrupter to come in either through a new business model or through a unique product enhancement, such as durable collapsible containers. New technology that ACL Airshop is introducing include real time tracking and tracing with Bluetooth Low Energy technology. The assets themselves are FAA certified and relatively simple, but the logistics management of them is a complex global ecosystem; hence new technology for better efficiency can truly become a game-changer. Can the basic ULD product be improved further or has it reached its optimum in construction methods, asked Air Cargo Week. ACL considers that sizes and shapes will be firm but new materials, such as less destructive/lighter weights, could play a role in the future as also the above mentioned collapsibility and real time tracking and tracing. Smart ULDs is the way forward with less focus on materials and more focus on information capabilities such as location and temperature. Are airlines very influential in the design process or do manufacturers go it alone and airlines simply have to buy what is made, asked Air Cargo Week. ACL’s reply is that airlines still do have influence on the details of the design but that is waning. This is mostly related to the type of material, sheet thickness and reinforcements depending on the airlines’ weight preference. Industry will hopefully start to realise that all different detail designs cost additional money in maintenance/spares. In general terms, when assessing the total life cycle cost of ULD ownership of 100 per cent, the initial purchase price is around 30 per cent and the rest is repair/parts and maintenance over the useful life of the asset. There are changes afoot in the ULD manufacturing industry, says ACL. It is becoming more concentrated and the next battleground will be technology/information capability of the ULDs. At the moment it appears that the manufacturers are playing a supporting role here and do not develop their own technology. Going forward it would be conceivable that future ULD purchases will be determined more on the smart ULD capabilities than the material/hardware. ACL Airshop CEO Steve Townes, says: “Digitalisation, big data, predictive analytics are rapidly transforming ULD fleet control, real-time tracking, and logistics. It’s moving quickly. With our Bluetooth innovations, some major airlines are already implementing. We believe within the next 24 to 36 months, we will have helped build a Giant Internet of Things across many scores of airports and many thousands of ULDs.”
Townes
Pepperworth replaces Kohr as CSafe Global CEO
BRIAN Kohr has resigned as president and chief executive officer of US-based CSafe Global, with Jeff Pepperworth taking over. Pepperworth has decades of experience in the healthcare and supply chain industry, having served as president of the healthcare division at Inmar, a provider of technology driven pharmacy returns management and third-party pharmacy management solutions. Prior to this, he was president of Inmar’s supply chain division and has also worked for Cleveland Clinic and UPS. Kohr, who will remain on the CSafe board of directors, says: “I have every confidence that Jeff will help drive the company to its next level of success to become the global market leader while continuing to provide the best possible products and services to our customers and partners.”
aircargoweek.com
ACW 9 APRIL 2018
9
FREIGHT FORWARDERS
Customer expectations are still not being met
F
reight forwarders are finally embracing digitalisation but their failure to meet customer expectations is holding them back, Freightos’ third annual Mystery Shopper report has found. Though the report found that there has been greater progress in embracing digital sales in air freight forwarding services than in the ocean, only three of the top 20 forwarders provide instant door to door airfreight quotes, though two more will do shortly. There were some worrying findings including that forwarders who quote manually took 57 Schreiber
hours on average, 72 per cent failed to quote and there was an average 58 per cent price spread. Freightos chief executive officer, Zvi Schreiber says the customer centric message is getting through, adding: “The challenge is daunting, and by no means unique to freight. But our industry, after all, is a service-based industry. It’s no surprise logistics providers are leveraging technology to make life better for shippers.” Acting as a mystery shopper using the name and details of a rapidly expanding US e-commerce company, Freightos requested quotes while providing all the necessary details upfront and claiming they currently used a competitor. Only 15 of the top 20 forwarders had an online contact form, of which nine were either instant quoting or ad hoc request for quotation, the other six were too general and the remaining five only provided email contact.
The quote request was also frustrating with only Kuehne + Nagel prominently placing the request form on their homepage, with forms for 11 other companies being straightforward to find. Some of the forms proved challenging, with one neglecting to request basic information including shipment ready date, and five forwarders failed to confirm that the quote request had been submitted. Of the 18 companies who did not quote instantly, only five eventually gave a quote while there were still issues with errors when using manual processes, and prices were still opaque with a spread of up to 58 per cent.
The sales process was not good enough, with only four providing a positive response to the request before quoting, with two follow ups proving poor, one sent another required form for completion and the other requesting information that had already been provided. Forwarders who requested manual quotes took on average 57 hours and of the seven forwarders who quoted, only three followed up to close the deal. The report says forwarders and carriers looking to survive and thrive the must create customer-facing solutions and view freight through their customers’ eyes.
Air Menzies makes a move in Melbourne
AIR Menzies International is moving into a new facility in Melbourne, having spent over 30 years at its previous location. The brand new facility is located within the new Melbourne Airport Freight Precinct, one kilometre and three minutes drive from the airport’s cargo terminals. It provides a significantly larger warehouse, office and yard space with a dock leveller, and awnings covering all loading bays. AMI’s range of services includes Approved Security Screening with multiple x-ray machines and explosive trace detection equipment. AMI regional vice president for Austral-
10
ACW 9 APRIL 2018
aircargoweek.com
asia, Geoff Young says: “The new facility and addition to our truck fleet represents a significant investment in upgrading our capabilities at Melbourne, which is one of our largest operations in the Australasia region. “In addition to providing quicker freight recovery and delivery through its proximity to the terminals, our new base gives us the capacity to handle larger volumes, particularly with the anticipated increase in security screening requirements. It will also enable us to assist our agent customers with 3PL opportunities and ocean container services.”
TRADEFINDER Airlines
Cargo Handling
GSSAs
Turkey
United Kingdom
United Arab Emirates
Online Services
Charters United Kingdom
Freight Forwarders Hong Kong
Iran
Freight Forwarders United Arab Emirates
Industry Event
United Kingdom
Freight Forwarders USA
aircargoweek.com 11_26 Mar 2018.indd 1
ACW 9 april 2018
11 03/04/2018 12:02
LOOKING AT WHAT PEOPLE IN THE AIR CARGO INDUSTRY ARE THINKING ABOUT
Qantas plans send Airway Bill’s cousin hopping mad
I
Freedom to roam in the cargo hold on the way to London? Can’t get the idea out of my head.
would have loved to have been at the Leadership Breakfast at the Australia-United Kingdom Chamber of Commerce when it held its Conversation with Alan Joyce, Qantas Group CEO. My invitation must surely have got lost in the post. Will check with the postie. This was just two days after Qantas’s first Perth-London service landed in the UK after a 9,000-mile trip and Joyce had a bit of a bombshell for me and my Australian cousin Airway Billabong. For me and Billabong, airfreight has been our life. In that time, we have often used the expression ‘walking cargo’ to describe the passengers who sit so innocently in the cabin, unawares of the millions in value lying beneath their feet in the cargo hold. It seems that Joyce’s big idea is a plan for ‘cargo class’ where passengers can stretch their legs and exercise in the cargo hold during super long-haul Qantas flights in the future. When I read this, I immediately phoned Billabong, who was in his Ute on the way home from an 18-hour shift. He was not amused when I told him what the Qantas head honcho had suggested. He spluttered: “Strewth! Let the walking cargo
into the cargo hold? That is as likely as Australia getting caught ball-tampering in a Test.” When I explained the idea was to allow passengers in to exercise on some of the incredibly long flights his national carrier was planning, he was not persuaded. “Passengers walking about where they shouldn’t will never fly. And why do they think these holds will be empty?” Billabong wanted to know where the stairs might go, would there be a lift for disabled passengers? Then, thinking about his faithful kangaroo, Kylie, he changed his tune. “Do you think my Kylie will be allowed to run free in the hold? I fly everywhere with Kylie. I’d love to see her run free to stretch her legs when we fly to see cousin Airway Bill. If they promise that, mate, I’d be all for it.” Qantas promises non-stop Sydney to London flights within four years.
Talking about my generation THE NextGen Logistics Network, a new community of young professionals in logistics and supply chain, will be launched at Multimodal at the UK’s National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham on May 3. Airfreight industry PR supremo Emma Murray’s Meantime Communications and Multimodal are backing the initiative to build a network for the next generation of logistics leaders. This being for digital natives, the community will connect online via a LinkedIn group, and companies backing the initiative will pledge to host networking and information events, which will include facility tours to give members an opportunity to connect with peers and better understand the different sectors of the supply chain industry. Emma (pictured) says: “The NextGen Logistics Network is unique in bringing together all logistics sectors giving our rising stars an opportunity to understand first-hand the opportunities and challenges across the entire supply chain. Members will be able to foster lasting relationships and build a more collaborative, forward-thinking, and ethical industry.”
Peel Ports will host the first event, and will kick-start the initiative alongside Meantime Communications during two seminar sessions at Multimodal 2018, which takes place from May 1 to 3 at the NEC. Heathrow Cargo and Air Canada are amongst the other companies pledging support, with more to be announced at the Multimodal event.
Is CargoPod on a road to nowhere? HAVING watched the video, you have to feel sorry for the CargoPod, the cute autonomous vehicle that has been wending its way some 200 km along a cargo route around the airside perimeter at London Heathrow airport. There is the little thing, the brainchild of designers at Oxbotica, an Oxford-based company specialising in self-driving software, driving around, taking in the scenery and making note of the objects and people it should not run into. It is learning how to do this so that IAG Cargo can understand how autonomous vehicles could work in an airside environment. The CargoPod spent three and half weeks running autonomously. The trial collected over 200 km of data that will enable IAG and Heathrow to assess potential opportu-
nities for the use of autonomous vehicles in airport environments of the future. But nowhere in the video or in any of the press material, did Oxbotica nor IAG Cargo explain what would happen when Heathrow is expanded. Will the little thing will be lost, unable to venture into the big, wide apron and extended airport grounds the new-look LHR would have?
aircargoweek.com