Broker Air Charter Service is planning a recruitment drive later this year as part of its expansion plans for the US Midwest.
It moved into a new office in Chicago on March 25 with six times the space.
Chief executive of the office, Caitlin Uhlmann, said: “O’Hare Airport is currently hugely expanding its cargo storage and shipping capability and is already the fifth biggest aviation shipper in the US, so the cargo business in the region is only likely to grow further.”
The war in Ukraine, resulting sanctions and lockdowns in China muted growth of general air cargo volumes and capacity in March, causing a sudden interruption to the recovery trend of recent months said analyst CLIVE Data Services.
Weekly data for March, and up to 3 April 2022, shows volumes compared to the pre-Covid level in 2019 fell 6.5% last month and were 4.5% lower than March 2021. Similarly, general air cargo capacity stood at -14% versus March 2019 and at -4% compared to the same month a year ago. This was exacerbated by the closure of Russian airspace and the immediate cancellation of some airline capacity, which led to a rapid 20% fall in Europe-NE Asia capacity.
CLIVE’s ‘dynamic load factor’ – which considers both the volume and weight of cargo flown and capacity available to produce a true indicator of airline performance – was largely unchanged month-over-month at 66%. This was the same level seen in the same month of 2019, but 6% points lower than March 2021 after record load factor levels in the opening weeks of last year.
Overall airfreight rates remained at similar high levels to February, averaging +141% compared to March 2019 and +27% higher than March 2021. CLIVE also identified a rise in the amount of airline cargo capacity being placed on the short-term spot rate market. Spot rates and spot share continued to rise on the Europe to Japan trade lane, for example, with spot rates from Japan to Europe climbing in the last week of the month to around €5.00 per kg, nearly 50% higher than in the weeks preceding the Ukraine war.
Niall van de Wouw, chief airfreight officer at CLIVE’s parent company, Xeneta, said: “In overall air cargo market terms, March was a step back from the trend we saw late last year and earlier this year. We have been reminded of how the limited control the general airfreight market has over its own destiny and how it is impacted by passenger traffic trends, disruption in the oceanfreight market, and geopolitical events.”
At 83%, the North Atlantic dynamic load factor from Europe to North America in March was 5% points lower than in March 2021, when it reached record levels of close to 90%, despite a 40% increase in capacity on this trade lane. The only marginal decrease in load was mainly caused by the 25% increase in volumes from Europe to North America compared to the same weeks last year. The continually declining schedule reliability of shipping had prompted shippers resort to airfreight.
Dubai-owned handling company dnata is moving into the German market with the planned 100% acquisition of Wisskirchen Handling Services, subject to government approval, dnata’s entry into the German market will further develop its position as a leading global cargo services provider. Wisskirchen is the exclusive operator of the 12,000sq m Cologne Bonn Cargo Centre, moving over 85,000 tonnes of cargo annually.
Turkish Cargo says it carried 335 million doses of the Covid-19 Vaccine to 61 countries during 2021, giving it an 8% share of the medical products market. Board chairman, Dr Ahmet Bolat, added that the carrier made it a priority to move vaccines to Africa, served by only a limited number of airlines. It delivered over 1 million doses to countries including Mauritania, Madagascar, Rwanda and Congo. It also carried 100 million doses to Brazil. Turkish Cargo adds that the country is on its way to become a global centre for medical product transportation following the opening of the SmartIST cargo facility at the new Istanbul Airport.
James and James Fulfilment has expanded its Ohio fulfilment centre by nearly three times to support eCommerce firms selling into the US market.
Recent increases to international shipping costs into the US have highlighted the benefits of domestic shipping for eCommerce firms, says James and James, which operates sites in the UK, US and the Netherlands.
The expanded Ohio facility, now 80,000 sq ft, will protect customers from changes in international shipping costs by increasing the options on where to ship from. It can also reduce delivery times, and offer greater reliability.
James and James customers include Frenchie Bulldog, Crafted London and Lisa Eldridge.
The company has recruited 15 new employees in the US, including a goods in manager, inventory operations manager and inventory team leader.
Chief executive Emma Dempsey said: “The US provides a great additional market for UK retailers, with many shifting their focus from the EU to US after Brexit. This new fulfilment centre provides the certainty and cost benefits of domestic shipping to businesses who are trying to reach or grow in that region. Ohio is not only well-placed to serve the East Coast population but is also within a one-day drive to most major populaces.”
She added: “Offering clients access to a strong technology platform and multiple sites from which to trade and ship internationally provides greater protection from changes in international trade, and reduces shipping costs and time to market for those trying to scale.”
James and James Fulfilment is also looking to open a new fulfilment centre on the West Coast, among other regions.
Qatar Airways Cargo and engineering company Gaussin have completed testing of a fully-electric cargo pallet transporter, ahead of plans to take delivery of up to 50 production versions later in the year.
The AMDT FULL ELEC is 100% electric with a payload of up to seven tonnes and battery life of up to six hours. It is powered by LMP lithium metal polymer batteries capable of operating in high temperatures, and on-board equipment includes integrated weighing scales to check pallet weight against tag weight.
Gaussin and Qatar Airways Cargo signed a contract in 2020 for the delivery of six AMDTs including an option for 50 units, aiming to replace all diesel pallet carriers, in line with Qatar Airways Cargo’s goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Emirates SkyCargo said on 4 April that it had transported over a billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines on its aircraft within 18 months of the first trial shipment in October 2020. It has carried more than 4,200 tonnes to over 80 destinations on over 2,000 flights. Close to two-thirds of the doses were to developing countries.
In January 2021, the carrier teamed up with Dubai-based companies to form the Dubai Vaccine Logistics Alliance to speed up distribution of vaccines through the hub to developing countries. In February 2021, it signed an MoU with UNICEF to prioritise transport and delivery of the vaccines in support of the COVAX initiative.
It also expanded its pharma cool chain infrastructure at Dubai International Airport, allowing it to store an additional estimated 60-90 million doses of the vaccines at any time.
Virgin Atlantic Cargo and forwarder Woodland Group are helping the Bat For A Chance charity bring the game of cricket to girls across Pakistan. Together with construction equipment manufacturer, Energy, it has gone into partnership with FemGames, a female empowerment initiative that is currently implementing an ambitious five-year plan to bring ‘empowerment’ through sport to a hundred girls’ schools across Pakistan.
Using cricket as a launchpad, FemGames hopes to eventually add other sports, including football and tennis, to upskill the next generation of Pakistani women with valuable life skills, through quality sports and life coaching, to complement the work of the schools in education.
FemGames is the brain-child of Ebba Qureshi, a recently appointed BFAC trustee and the wife of former Pakistan all-rounder Azhar Mahmood.
Virgin Atlantic Cargo transported a donation of cricket equipment to Lahore for Roshan Sitara Primary School.
Energy has sponsored the purchase of kit to be donated to projects in Barbados, Sri Lanka and India, as well as Pakistan.
Managing director of Virgin Atlantic Cargo, Phil Wardlaw, said: “It is an honour to bring our expertise in transporting cargo to such a worthy project, and we’re grateful for the support of our freight forwarding partner, Woodland Group, in supporting this shipment.
“At Virgin Atlantic, our purpose is to empower everyone to take on the world and use our business as a force for good, through our communities, our people, and our partners. Partnering with Bat For A Chance means Virgin Atlantic Cargo can bring a real opportunity for children to participate in this wonderful sport and experience the joy of cricket, in both Pakistan and across the world.”
Air Canada Cargo is to expand its freighter network, with flights from Toronto to Halifax starting April 19 and services from Toronto to Frankfurt, Cologne, Istanbul, Madrid and St. John’s, from in May. It will follow the entry into service of the carrier’s second Boeing 767-300ER freighter aircraft.
The carrier put its first dedicated Boeing 767-300ER freighter aircraft into service on 9 December. The initial plan was to operate to Frankfurt but the new plane was pressed into service to move cargo from Toronto to Vancouver to relieve flood-hit British Columbia.
Cargo commercial managing director, Matthieu Casey, said: “The entry into service of our second freighter is yet another exciting milestone in the growth of our freighter network and provides more options and services to the cargo community.”
SWISS celebrated its 20th anniversary, marking its first-ever flight from Basel to Zurich on 31 March 2002. The Airline of Switzerland was formed from Crossair and of Swissair’s flight operations, after the former carriers went out of business in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.
The carrier says that its early years were marked by rigorous restructuring and uncertainty over its continued viability. An initially oversized aircraft fleet had to be substantially downscaled, together with the original workforce, before the new company could generate profits. The new SWISS also lacked the critical mass required to survive alone in the fiercely competitive air travel marketbut its future was secured in 2005 through the company’s integration into Germany’s Lufthansa Group.
SWISS today serves 92 destinations from its Zurich hub and 46 points from Geneva and carries more cargo and passengers than any Swiss airline has ever transported in the past.
During the Covid pandemic between March 2020 and February 2022, SWISS’s Swiss WorldCargo airfreight division performed 2,650 all-cargo flights that transported over 69,300 tonnes of cargo and provided Switzerland besides many with urgently-needed medical supplies such as facemasks and vaccines.
