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Qatar Airways Cargo launches kids’ collection drive

Airlines

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May 3, 2022

Qatar Airways Cargo launches kids’ collection drive

Qatar Airways Cargo has launched Chapter 3 of its Let’s Stand Together WeQare programme, with a major drive to gather donations in kind for children to 10 May.

It is collecting study materials such as books, school bags or pencils, clothes and sports items (socks, soccer balls, sneakers or jerseys) as well as toys, musical instruments and board games.

Any donation for children is welcome, as long as it is clean, in good condition and without batteries.

The collection is worldwide, and open to business partners, friends, families and others. Each Qatar Airways Cargo station has its own collection point and it has also opened six donation collection points for its employees, as well as a public collection point in Doha.

All donations will be sent to its hub in Doha where a massive sorting operation will take place on 17 May, following which the donations will be sent all over the world. Qatar Airways Cargo will also offset the CO2 emissions.

Chapter 1 of WeQare, launched in July 2020, provided free transport of 1 million kilos of humanitarian aid and medical equipment to charitable organisations.

Under Chapter 2, Rewild the Planet, Qatar Airways Cargo committed to preserve wildlife and endangered animals and to transport them back to their natural habitat free of charge.

For more information about the donation and collection points, visit https://www.qrcargo.com/weqare-chapter3 or contact askcargo@qatarairways.com.qa

You can also watch a video at WeQare Chapter 3: Let’s Stand Together on YouTube

Freighter business remains buoyant, says IBA

Aerospace

Chris Lewis

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May 3, 2022

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Freighter business remains buoyant, says IBA

The global freighter market remains buoyant, with the recovery from the pandemic gathering pace, said industry consultant IBA in a webinar on 29 April.

It pointed out that the Boeing 737-800 freighter fleet has almost doubled in size to 113 from 59 a year ago, demonstrating its sustained appeal to passenger to freighter converters. The Boeing 767-300 freighter fleet has also continued to grow from 127 to 156, driven by the plentiful availability of passenger ‘feedstock’ aircraft suitable for conversion into freighters.

There is also a clear growth in Airbus converted freighter fleets, although numbers are smaller, says IBA. The A321 freighter fleet has doubled from four to eight aircraft over the past year, while A330s-200s and -300s have also increased from 10 to 16.

The market is being aided by the increasing number of conversion centres with at least nine facilities becoming active for the A321, six for the A330 and 15 for the Boeing 737-800.

The number of conversion lines for the Boeing 777-300ER is also growing as demand increases.

IBA added that there are 23 freighter aircraft on lease within Russia from non-Russian lessors.

Peli BioThermal opens in Baltimore

Chris Lewis

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April 28, 2022

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Thermal packaging specialist Peli BioThermal has opened a service centre in Baltimore, Maryland. It joins over 30 global network stations, service centres and drop points opened within the past three months.

Situated near the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, the centre will offer Crēdo Cubereusable shippers and CoolGuard Advance single-use shippers. The site will also condition Peli BioThermal products with temperature ranges of 2-8°C and -20°C.

Maryland is part of the BioHealth Capital Region (cluster of 1,800 life sciences companies, more than 70 federal labs and world class academic and research institutions with a stated goal to be one of the top three biohealth regions in the United States by 2023.

Baltimore itself is home to a growing number of biotech and life sciences companies while Johns Hopkins University serves as an incubator for new ideas that generate spin off companies ready to advance to clinical trials.

B&H signs up for Earthly delights

Chris Lewis

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April 28, 2022

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Aerospace logistics provider, B&H Worldwide, has partnered with Earthly, a platform that connects businesses to nature-based solutions that remove carbon, restore biodiversity and support local communities. B&H says it will commit to long-term projects with measurable benefits rather than simply paying to offset its carbon emissions. From the beginning of April, as part of the Earthly partnership, B&H will plant a mangrove tree for every single air freight shipment its processes.

United plans transatlantic flight surge

Airlines

Chris Lewis

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April 28, 2022

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United Airlines says it will launch or resume 30 transatlantic flights from mid-April through early June. The carrier will add new services to hubs including London, Milan, Zurich, Munich and Nice. It is also resuming 14 routes it has historically served and adding frequencies in six others.

Its transatlantic route network will be more than 25% larger than it was in 2019 and it says it will serve more transatlantic destinations than every other US carrier combined and will be the largest airline across the Atlantic for the first time in history.

New routes include: Washington/Amman, Jordan from May 5. three times weekly with a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner; it will become the only US carrier to fly to Norway with a three times a week 757-200 service between New York/Newark and Bergen; there are new daily flights between Boston and London Heathrow; daily flights between Denver and Munich; between Chicago and Zurich; between New York/Newark and Nice; Chicago and Milan.

Increased services include second daily flights between: New York/Newark and Dublin; between Denver and London Heathrow, beginning May 7; between New York/Newark and Frankfurt, beginning May 26; and between New York/Newark and Rome five times weekly, beginning May 27.

It is also adding a third daily flight between San Francisco and London Heathrow and increasing service between New York/Newark and London Heathrow to seven daily flights, beginning May 28.

It will also increase its service to daily between Washington/Dulles and Accra, Ghanaand extend its seasonal service to Cape Town to year-round from New York/Newark from June 5, subject to government approval.

((Pix – United transatlantic))

Forwarders get together to tackle airfreight issues

Forwarding

Chris Lewis

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April 28, 2022

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Forwarders get together to tackle airfreight issues

The Airforwarders Association (AfA) is driving an initiative to help tackle airport congestion in the US.

AfA’s Airport Congestion Committee (ACC) recently met and agreed to focus on developing solutions for: technology and automation; service standards; airport facilities and infrastructure; staffing and hours of operation; and regulatory and paperwork challenges.

The five critical issues were identified by a survey of airport cargo stakeholders by AfA, the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) and the Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA).

ACC members will now produce a Recommendation Paper with which to approach private, public, and government entities to highlight challenges and suggest solutions.

ACC chair and vice president of AfA member Kale Info Solutions, Donna Mullins, said that on completion, the association would invite the air cargo industry to come together to implement solutions for more efficient airports.

She said: “Our survey generated hundreds of responses from a broad cross-section of industry segments clearly articulating a number of problems that require remedial action.

“Our deliverable will not be a document that sits on a shelf, we will be presenting concerns as well as potential solutions to key industry leaders and appropriate members of Congress and the Office of the Secretary of Transportation.”

The industry’s efforts would also be key to obtaining public funds for a wide range of capital and technology improvements.

The ACC, which has recently been joined by Airlines for America (A4A) and the Airline Service Providers Association (ASPA), is seeking to drive improvements including enhanced electronic communications linking airport stakeholders, as well as improved access and on-airport landside infrastructure to accommodate trucks.

AfA executive director, Brandon Fried, added: “Truck congestion caused by cargo handling delays at major airport cargo facilities continues to cost our members significant financial resources and lost productivity. This initiative will help us identify causes while providing a foundational document to share with government officials in creating solutions to the challenge.”

Modernized airport cargo facilities with mechanized handling and cross-training to enhance communications and operating efficiency, are also identified as key areas for improvement.

ACC vice chair and vice president global air freight for SEKO Logistics, Shawn Richard added: Congestion at our airports is such an important issue, and by working together as a Committee, we are able to draw upon each member’s unique knowledge and diverse experience, to be able to execute a robust plan and achieve our collective goals of improved throughput and modernization of outdated infrastructure with an emphasis on environmental sustainability.”

ACC will meet at the end of May to review submissions and plan next steps and deliverables.

Freighter number five for AELF

Aerospace

Chris Lewis

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April 27, 2022

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Chicago-based aircraft leaser AELF Flight Service has put a fifth Airbus 330-200 on certificate, flying in passenger-to-freighter (PTF) configuration. The aircraft operated its first flight on April 23, from Vietnam to the US.

AELF’s five A330s are currently all in PTF configuration, with passenger seats removed and cargo nets installed to hold parcel freight in the upper deck, in addition to the standard freight capacity in the lower deck. The configuration is reversible in a matter of weeks, which the company plans to exercise this summer.

Chief operating officer, Joe Cirillo, said: “As supply chain issues drag on, the addition of 9H-CFS is our commitment to fulfilling the need for capacity in the air cargo market in the short-term, while maximizing our flexibility to return to passenger service later this year.”

A sixth A330-200 will join the fleet with a brand-new passenger interior while three other A330s will also be converted back to passenger configuration by August. The A330 fleet will be operated by the company’s affiliate Maleth Aero.

However, while the fleet will undergo transformation to passenger configuration this summer, the group is also exploring its options for a Supplemental Type Certificate that will allow continued operation of the PTF configuration for one or more of its aircraft beyond the EASA preighter exemption deadline.

(Picture: Marcello Montagna Esposito)

Air Canada freighter moves aid to Ukraine

Airlines

Chris Lewis

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April 27, 2022

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Air Canada freighter moves aid to Ukraine

On the night of 26 April, Air Canada’s new 767 freighter departed from Toronto to Frankfurt, transporting 50 tonnes of aid for Ukraine on behalf of Airlink, Flexport.org and GlobalMedic.

GlobalMedic response teams managed the distribution of supplies to treat people who have been displaced by the conflict, whose homes have been destroyed, and those injured, expanding the capacity of hospitals in border regions to provide care.

Some 100 Air Canada employees also volunteered their time to pack emergency family food kits being sent by GlobalMedic.

Non-profit disaster logistics expert Airlink helps remove the cost of air transportation as a barrier to NGOs responding to disasters and other humanitarian crises. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, it has transported more than 135 tonnes of aid and 221 relief workers for 20 non-profit organizations.

Mexican carrier takes delivery of converted Airbus

Aerospace

Chris Lewis

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April 27, 2022

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Mexican carrier takes delivery of converted Airbus

Ireland-based leasing company CDB Aviation has taken delivery of an A330-300 passenger-to-freighter (P2F) converted aircraft from Germany’s Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW) for Mexico-based cargo carrier, mas.

It is the leasing company’s first ever freighter aircraft. Mas already operates A330-200P2F aircraft leased from Altavair.

The A330-300P2F series aircraft will be operated mainly to Europe, and the A330-200P2F on new scheduled routes to China, due to start before the end of the first half of 2022.

Andrés Fabre, representative at mas main investor the Discovery Americas Investment Fund, said: “We see at mas an impeccable execution of the business plan that we designed together. mas is looking for opportunities introducing modern and efficient aircraft of different models and capacities. All this is turning mas -as planned- into the Mexican cargo airline with a global footprint in the short term.”

You’ve got to collaborate to accumulate

IT/Software

Chris Lewis

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April 27, 2022

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Air cargo IT specialist CHAMP Cargosystems has launched an API partner program to promote collaboration around its Cargospot product. APIs are increasingly used in the industry to integrate clients and partners allowing them to innovate faster, use the strengths of partners, support new business models and build digital business networks.

The program brings together API developers from airlines, ground handlers, general sales agents, software houses and other third-party companies to develop solutions. This allows the Cargospot community to use new, tailor-made products, select from a wider choice of partners/solutions, and implement these API-based solutions rapidly.

By joining the program, partners can pitch their solutions to one of the largest air cargo communities. Developers will also gain easy access to the latest API product updates through CHAMP’s API developer portal.