Chicago-headquartered leasing and charter operator AELF FlightService has registered a fourth Airbus 330-200 on the certificate of its Malta-based subsidiary, Maleth. The aircraft has already carried out its first operational flight – in auxiliary cargo configuration with seats removed – in partnership with air charter specialist 26AVIATION, delivering Covid-related supplies from Europe to Asia.
In 2020, together with its European partners, AELF FlightService took a controlling interest in Malta-based airline Maleth Aero which has since added four A330s to its certificate, including this aircraft. It now operates eight widebody aircraft in full-time auxiliary cargo configuration.
Chief operating officer at AELF FlightService, Joe Cirillo, commented: “With the rapid growth of e-commerce and constant need for transport of pandemic supplies, there is more than ever a need for innovative cargo solutions in the market. This additional aircraft allows us to expand our fleet to further meet that need.”
President of Maleth Aero, Lee Jones, added: “We are thrilled to add another widebody aircraft to our operation that will increase capacity and allow us to continue providing reliable, seamless and on-time service to our customers.”
New freighter in quick-time for charter firm
Air cargo load factors surge again
Air cargo load factors and airfreight rates continued their expected peak season climb in September, said industry analysts, CLIVE Data Services.
CLIVE’s ‘dynamic loadfactor’ – which measures both the volume and weight perspectives of cargo flown and capacity available to produce a true indicator of airline performance – rose to 68% in the last week of the month, higher than any pre-Covid peak season level since it began sharing data in May 2018.
As in previous months, CLIVE’s latest market intelligence reports air cargo market performance to pre-Covid 2019 levels, as well as 2020 year-over-year comparisons, to provide meaningful analyses of the current conditions. Data for September 2021 shows chargeable weight of +1% vs 2019, on a par with recent months, slowly tapering the gap to September 2020 volumes to +14% following the +23% and +19% levels reported in July and August 2021.
Capacity remained constrained at -13% versus the pre-Covid level seen in September 2019, while in August it was still -16% versus 2019, although this more reflects the reduction in capacity in 2019 because of the ending of the summer season than an increase in capacity in 2021. Compared to August 2021, global air cargo capacity was more-or-less flat on a like-for-like basis month-over-month.
The dynamic loadfactor for September overall remained at 66% – but saw a strong upward trend towards the end of the month. This growing demand was reflected in continued higher pricing levels, with the average rate in September 2021 following a similar trend to the previous month at more than double the average rates (+113% pts) in 2019. Versus 2020, following the + 15% pts rise in rates in August, September saw a +26% pts increase as demand vs. supply further improved the ‘sellers’ market’, highlighting the strain on the air cargo supply chain.
CLIVE managing director Niall van de Wouw commented: “This September data shows just the early stages of the typical fourth quarter surge, but many signals and commentaries seem to suggest that this will not be a ‘typical’ peak season. The recent week-over-week increase in load factor is a significant jump by any standards and shows the pressure on the air cargo supply chain is clearly further heating up. If airlines are micromanaging their capacity right now, they can benefit from it quite substantially.” He added: “Currently, air cargo capacity is still largely controlled by cargo departments of airlines, and I see no reason why this will change in the immediate term. We might, however, not be too far away from this starting to change as certain lanes traditionally dominated by passenger flights begin to open up again for passenger travel, like the transatlantic. This is obviously extremely important to the long-term health and survival of passenger airlines, but it will also be a bittersweet moment after the heroics of the cargo industry. The role of air cargo within the airline boardroom will likely start to recede and impact the demand versus supply ratio once again.”
(More commentary from CLIVE Data Services in the next printed edition of Air Cargo Vision in October.)
Etihad signs Astral pharma deal
Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Cargo has signed a pharma interline agreement with Astral Aviation and Kenya Airways to provide pharma delivery solutions across Africa.
Eithad gains access to Astral’s fleet of 14 freighters out of its Nairobi and Johannesburg to 15 African destinations. Both carriers are members of The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) and Pharma.Aero, whose joint Project Sunrays initiative offers cross-industry collaboration for pharma shippers managing complex vaccine distribution logistics.
The agreement ensures Etihad Cargo partners are fully compliant with latest GDP and IATA Pharma regulations and standards, and guarantees processes, from booking to handling of such sensitive goods, are standardised and performed to the highest quality. In September, Astral Aviation signed an interline agreement Airlink Cargo South Africa and to connect their networks through their hubs in Johannesburg and Nairobi.
An 83-ton boiler takes flight
Volga-Dnepr Airlines and forwarder Fracht FWO orchestrated the delivery of an 83-tonne boiler from Milan, Italy to Lincoln, Nebraska, for a power plant in Sioux City, Iowa. The move took almost two months of planning by European and US teams at both companies and design and production of a special cradle.
The flight lasted two days with tech stops in Liege, Keflavik, Gander and Bangor, the latter being included for smooth customs procedures. After landing at Nebraska, the equipment weighing over 93 tonnes was trucked to Iowa to be assembled.
To see a live stream of the operation: LIVE: An-124 93T load-and-go at Milan Malpensa – YouTube
DHL opens Paris super-hub
DHL Express has opened a new international hub at Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport. The €170 million investment has created a facility ten times larger than the previous site. It is the carrier’s largest investment in Europe in recent years and the biggest ever in France since its arrival in 1976. DHL has also made €80 million worth of other investments in its French infrastructure over the last six years.
DHL Express chief executive John Pearson said the Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport is now the fourth largest hub in its European network, after Leipzig, East Midlands and Brussels.
In France and the rest of the world, growth in parcel shipments linked to e-commerce has considerably accelerated due to Covid-19 and is continuing at a very sustained pace in 2021, with DHL Express France increasing its volume by about 8% compared to 2019.
The new facility’s 45 million sorting system can process 38,000 pieces an hour, 15 times more than the previous facility.
It also meets strict environmental criteria, including LED lighting with motion detectors, a sorting system with high-efficiency motors and energy-efficient air conditioning.
Temp packaging firm on the move
Temperature controlled packaging solutions company Peli BioThermal is to relocate its Minnesota- corporate headquarters from Plymouth to Maple Grove, MN. The new space100,000sq ft adds 40% more square footage to meet increasing demand for thermal packaging used to transport blood supplies, tissues, biologics, pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, and vaccines during transit. The space will include additional production lines and will house Peli BioThermal’s 80 plus Minnesota-based employees, with room for future growth.
Peli BioThermal president David Williams, said: “Covid-19 vaccines and therapeutics created unprecedented demand for temperature controlled packaging. Fast-growing markets like cell and gene therapy will continue to increase demand and the need for product innovation.”
Handler signs up to Cargospot in EMEAA
Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) has signed a long-term agreement to move its core cargo management system in the Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia (EMEAA) region to CHAMP’s Cargospot software-as-a-service (SaaS).
CHAMP is already a longstanding partner of cargo handler WFS. The implementation of CHAMP’s SaaS environment, and adoption of its Cargospot Mobile application using modern iOS or Android smart phone or tablet devices, will eliminated manual processes and paperwork and give faster access to real-time data.
WFS will switch over its EMEAA cargo management system to CHAMP’s Cargospot SaaS in October before commencing a phased introduction of Cargospot Mobile. The mobile application will initially go live at WFS cargo stations in the Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland, France, Belgium, Spain, Sweden and Italy, and be followed by its operations in South Africa, Thailand and the UK in the second phase.
Carrier and forwarder take green fuel to the next level
Lufthansa Cargo and Kuehne+Nagel have signed a new partnership to promote CO2-neutral power-to-liquid aviation fuel. They have agreed to an annual purchase of 25,000 litres of synthetic crude oil agreed for at least five years, which will then be refined into finished Jet A1 fuel for aircraft at Atmosfair’s Heide refinery, north of Hamburg. Atmosfair says the pl;ant will go into regular operation in the first quarter of 2022.
Until now, Lufthansa Cargo and Kuehne+Nagel have used sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) of biogenic origin – that is, synthetic paraffin based on used cooking oils, for example. But to produce synthetic paraffin, also known as power-to-liquid fuel, the synthetic crude oil is produced from regeneratively generated electricity, water and CO2 and such fuel is considered CO2-neutral.
While still in the development stage, they are already considered a long-term alternative to conventional paraffin or biogenic SAF, as there are in theory no availability limits.
MASkargo goes live on CargoAi
Malaysian Aviation’s MASkargo arm has become the first Asia Pacific carrier to put all its global capacity on the CargoAi digital platform. Freight forwarders can now get e-Quote and e-Booking services across the carrier’s global network of more than 100 destinations.
Air Canada expands Toronto cold chain capability
Air Canada has started work on a $16-million project to expand its cold chain handling at Toronto Pearson International Airport.
Once completed, the upgraded facility will feature over 30,000sq ft of temperature-controlled areas and an expanded cooler to fully meet the requirements of cold chain shipments such as pharmaceuticals, fresh food and other perishables.
The extended cooler will accommodate more unit load devices (ULD) and loose shipments with +2°C to +8°C and +15°C to +25°C temperature requirements, provide additional racking, and an upgraded dedicated area for active temperature control units.
The carrier says they are the first step in a multi-year investment plan for the facility and are part of several planned infrastructure investment projects for Air Canada Cargo.
The project also includes the installation of equipment including temperature controllers that will constantly monitor the conditions inside the facility and only regulate the temperature as needed, so as to reducd energy consumption. Rapid roll-up doors will be installed to minimize energy loss when the cooler is accessed and LED lights will be installed throughout the facility.
Air Canada is CEIV Pharma certified by IATA, meeting the highest standards of safety, security, compliance and the enhancements were guided, in part, by its specifications.
Vice president, cargo, Jason Berry, said: “Our new temperature-controlled facility, which will be the only one of its kind for a Canadian airline, represents a significant addition to Air Canada’s on-site capabilities at Toronto Pearson and to Canadian cold chain logistics. It will also give Air Canada Cargo a strategic advantage at our main hub, which handles more than 60% of all our traffic, and will support the launch of routes to be served by our new freighter aircraft.”
Since March 2020, Air Canada has operated more than 11,000 all-cargo flights using its wide-body passenger aircraft as well as temporarily modified Boeing 777 and Airbus A330 aircraft with seats removed from the passenger cabin.
It is also converting eight Boeing 767-300ER aircraft into dedicated freighters, the first of which will enter service in the fourth quarter of this year, initially on key routes to provide additional capacity during the busy peak season.
From early 2022, the first freighter will fly primarily out of Toronto to Miami, Quito, Lima, Mexico City and Guadalajara, with additional cities like Madrid and Frankfurt, Halifax and St. John’s connecting to the freighter network when the second aircraft is delivered in 2022.