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Three decades of helping the world

Chris Lewis
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Three decades of helping the world

Air Charter Service and Volga-Dnepr Group have celebrated 30 years of on humanitarian missions.

At the end of 1989 Alexey Isaikin  was working on the aviation plant in Ulyanovsk overseeing manufacturing of Antonov 124s and Chris Leach was unemployed but with a wealth of aircraft charter contacts. Shortly afterwards he began working as a broker from his basement in his house in Kingston-upon-Thames. As the Soviet Union collapsed around him, Alexey  Isaikin formed his company, Volga-Dnepr Airlines working with the Antonov 124s that he knew so well.
The entrepreneurs were among the pioneers in bringing in the Antonov 124s to the western charter market. The aircraft had unmatched capacity compared to anything at the time, of indeed since, and changed the face of the cargo charter industry.
Since then the two partners have completed more than 500 charters, a large number of them carrying relief and humanitarian aid and have collaborated in the aftermaths of virtually every natural disaster since the early 1990s.

The first recorded relief charter between the two companies was on an Antonov 124 from Luanda, Angola to Entebbe, Uganda in the early 1990s and since then they have flown boats to help the relief effort following the Asian Tsunami in 2004 or a mobile hospital to the Caribbean following Hurricane Irma in 2017. Following the earthquake in Port-au-Prince in 2010 the airport’s infrastructure was so damaged that only self-loading aircraft could land there with humanitarian aid and ACS and Volga-Dnepr worked together again.
The most recent humanitarian projects have been numerous charters transporting PPE on Ilyushin 76s and Antonov 124s.

Nigeria’s Aglow joins Cargo iQ

Chris Lewis
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Nigeria’s Aglow joins Cargo iQ

Nigerian aviation consultancy, flight operations, and logistics business Aglow Aviation Support Services has joined the Cargo iQ cross-stakeholder organization.

Aglow Aviation’s daughter company, Aglow Air, was recently incorporated as a dedicated cargo airline in Nigeria, operating as an unscheduled cargo carrier out of Lagos.

Aglow managing director, Tayo Ojuri (pictured), said: “Being in a community that includes members representing all players in the cargo value chain is an invaluable opportunity to access data that assists with the continuous measuring, monitoring, and improvement of our process.”

Air cargo demand is expected to increase in Nigeria and West and Central Africa as requirements for the international transportation of temperature-controlled goods and cross border e-commerce continue to grow.

The implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area and the Single African Air Transport Market could further promote growth in the market.

Flight no. 1000 for Atran – with more to come

Chris Lewis
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Flight no. 1000 for Atran – with more to come

Volga-Dnepr Group’s Atran Air operated its 1000th flight to Riga, Latvia on 29 September bringing over 20 tons of e-commerce shipments from China aboard a Boeing 737-800BCF. The company is now discussing potential cooperation and upscaling of cargo operations to the airport.

CMA CGM to add two freighters

Chris Lewis
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CMA CGM to add two freighters

Shipping group-turned-air cargo operator CMA CGM is to buy two new Boeing 777 freighters to grow its air freight division.

CMA CGM Group launched its dedicated air freight division, CMA CGM Air Cargo, in March flights between Liege (Belgium) and Chicago, followed by New York, Atlanta, and Dubai.

The group said the new 777Fs would give it more flexibility It has a range of 9,200 kilometers and a maximum payload of 102 tonnes, allowing it to make fewer stops and reduce landing fees on long-haul routes.

Industry calls on UN to end Covid rules chaos for transport workers

Chris Lewis
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Industry calls on UN to end Covid rules chaos for transport workers

Global air, road an, sea groups and trade unions have called on the UN General Assembly to end the hotch-potch of inconsistent and unpredictable travel restrictions that has brought chaos the global supply chain in the wake of the Covid crisis.

In an open letter published on 29 September, the day of the UNGA’s General Debate in New York, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the International Road Transport Union (IRU), the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS) and the International Transport Workers’ Federation made an urgent plea to world heads of government to restore freedom of movement to airline, shipping and road transport workers.

The letter called for transport workers to be given priority to receive vaccines and the creation of a standardized process for demonstrating health credentials.

At a press conference called by the four groups, International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) secretary general Stephen Cotton said delays at national borders and “small-minded thinking” had clogged up transport operations, with “literally hourly rule changes”  on Covid testing and vaccination for truck drivers.

IATA director general Willie Walsh said that air crews had played a vital role in getting PPE, vaccines and other vital goods to where they were needed, but there had been many instances of them being trapped on board their aircraft for up to 36 hours, unable to disembark because of Covid restrictions. These draconian rules had continued long after they were proved to be unnecessary because of coordinated government rules, and which ignored regulations by the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

Willie Walsh said that there was no evidence that passengers or aircrew were at higher risk of carrying the Covid vaccine than the general population – rather the reverse, in fact. Air transport, he said, was “a controlled environment”.

He added: “This has gone on long enough. We need governments to recognise that the measures are completely out of proportion to the risk.”

Astral delivers HOPE to Africa

Chris Lewis
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Astral delivers HOPE to Africa

Kenya-based cargo airline Astral Aviation has joined with the HOPE Consortium to distribute vaccines to Africa. HOPE will utilise Astral Aviation’s comprehensive network, technologies, and market expertiseand the alliance will ensure timely delivery of vaccines and critical supplies to all 54 African nations.

Astral Aviation operates a fleet of 14 freighter aircraft as well as drones and warehousing.

Astral chief executive Sanjeev Gadhia said the carrier “will add further technological and warehousing solutions for distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines from the hub in Abu Dhabi, to all the 54 countries in Africa directly or via its Nairobi Hub, which occupies 9000 m2 of cold-storage facilities.”

Astral has also been selected by UNICEF to perform vaccine flights for COVAX and for the African Union via the African Medical Supplies Platform.

Airfreight recovery continues

Chris Lewis
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Airfreight recovery continues

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said its August 2021 data for global air cargo showed that demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometers (CTKs), was up 7.7% compared to the pre-Covid month of August 2019, or 8.6% for international operations. Overall growth remains strong compared to the long-term average growth trend of around 4.7%.
The pace of demand growth did slow slightly compared to July, which saw demand increase 8.8% (against pre-COVID-19 levels).
Cargo capacity recovery paused in August, down 12.2% compared to August 2019 (13.2% for international operations). In month-on-month terms, capacity fell by 1.6% – the largest drop since January 2021.
IATA added that economic conditions continue to support air cargo growth but are slightly weaker than in the previous months indicating that global manufacturing growth has peaked.
IATA director general, Willie Walsh (pictured), commented: “Air cargo demand had another strong month in August, up 7.7% compared to pre-Covid levels. Many of the economic indicators point to a strong year-end peak season. With international travel still severely depressed, there are fewer passenger planes offering belly capacity for cargo. And supply chain bottlenecks could intensify as businesses continue to ramp up production.”

Lufthansa greets new 777Fs, says farewell to the MD-11F

Chris Lewis
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Lufthansa greets new 777Fs, says farewell to the MD-11F

Lufthansa Cargo has put two more Boeing 777F freighters into service, bringing the carrier’s total of the type to 11, plus four aircraft operated by its AeroLogic joint venture with DHL.

One aircraft is a brand-new aircraft from the Boeing factory in Everett, Washington State which touched down for the first time at Frankfurt Airport at 06:00am on 29 September and, with this acquisition, Lufthansa Cargo has now exercised all of its purchase options held on widebody freighters with the manufacturer. The other aircraft is an acquisition from the used market.

The new arrivals also marks the end of Lufthansa Group’s last remaining tri-jet of and indeed the last MD-11 aircraft registered in Europe. Lufthansa Cargo is expressing its gratitude for more than 23 years of loyal service by sending its D-ALCC out on its final rotations to Cairo, Tel Aviv, Chicago and New York with the greetings “Farewell” and “Thank you, MD-11” emblazoned on its fuselage. Its active time with Lufthansa will come to an end with its last landing at Frankfurt Airport at noon on 15 October.

Korea move for FedEx

Chris Lewis
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Korea move for FedEx

FedEx’s Logistics arm is to open an office in Seoul, South Korea. The new FedEx Logistics Korean organization will provide logistics solutions, including international air and ocean cargo services, customs brokerage and trade solutions, as well as a range of value-added services.

Europe’s pharma logistics spend set to overtake North America, says report

Chris Lewis
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Europe’s pharma logistics spend set to overtake North America, says report

The global pharmaceutical logistics market will be worth €96,291m (US$112,456m) by 2025, growing 4.4% every year, according to a white paper by consultants Ti.

The market will also undergo a transition period over the coming years, it says. Growth will initially be driven by ongoing Covid-19 requirements alongside a gradual return to medical services. But towards 2025, the market will be driven by structural drivers such as aging populations, the rise of non-communicable diseases and more complex logistics requirements.

The current market, valued by Ti at €77,631m (US$90,664m) is dominated by North America, which accounts for 35.9% of the total thanks to its strong market and high levels of research and development, along with Europe (35.8%) with its major pharma companies. Asia-Pacific accounts for 23.2% of the market.

However, Russia, Caucasus and Central Asia, although it accounts for a small sliver of the current market, currently has the highest growth rate (24.2%). Europe, South America and Asia Pacific have the next highest growth rates, but only 4.1%, 2.6% and 1.1% respectively.

North America in fact has experienced negative growth (-1.4%) in market share terms. The main factor here was Mexico, where absolute pharma production went down in 2020.

By 2025, Ti predicts that Europe will be the biggest pharma logistics market at 37.7%, followed by North America (32.%) and Asia Pacific (24.2%).

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