WFS ready for end of year rush with Amsterdam offline hub

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June 22, 2022

Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) is to open an offline cargo warehouse at Amsterdam Schiphol to add capacity ahead of the winter 2022 peak season.

The new 3,000sq m facility is the fourth WFS cargo terminal at Schiphol, taking the company’s overall footprint to 17,500sq m.

WFS currently provides cargo handling services at Schiphol for more than 50 airlines as well as forwarders and logistics providers, along with airside transport and linehaul trucking.

The new building has eight truck docks and will open in August. It will also adopt the latest operational systems, including the CargoKiosk system to expedite the handling of collection and delivery trucks and CargoSpot Mobile to provide real time shipment visibility.

FedEx takes stake and signs data deal with FourKites

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Chris Lewis

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June 21, 2022

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FedEx has signed an alliance and made a strategic investment in supply chain visibility company FourKites to give customers more robust real-time visibility. FourKites will use its machine learning and artificial intelligence capabilities with data insights from the FedEx network – which reaches more than 220 countries and territories, and makes over 16.5 million shipments daily – to create a new end-to-end supply chain intelligence platform called FourKites X.

FourKites X will provide tools and insights to help large shippers and logistics providers mitigate the impacts of sustained challenges through dynamic planning and pre-shipment, enhanced visibility and proactive alerts and supply chain optimization insights.

FedEx’s Dataworks business unit will support development of FourKites X.

The platform will help large shippers and logistics providers identify areas of opportunity, such as improved planning to address empty shelves and manufacturing slowdowns; using data to turn supply chain crises into chances to improve the customer experience; and optimising supply chains for growth and efficiency.

FedEx Dataworks chief executive Sriram Krishnasamy, said: “This is an exciting collaboration between two industry leaders and innovators coming together to unlock new opportunities for our customers. If the last two years have taught us anything, it’s that companies need to work together in order to work smarter and faster.

“Our collaboration with FourKites creates a data ecosystem that will deliver a new level of predictability and visibility to help businesses build smarter supply chains in today’s unpredictable and complex business environment.”

FourKites founder and chief executive, Mathew Elenjickal, added: “Together, we are working to pave the future of global supply chains, built on a foundation of data and machine learning to deliver new value to those global supply chains.”

Women in Aviation and Logistics scheme hails success

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Chris Lewis

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June 21, 2022

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All 27 participants in the first Women in Aviation and Logistics mentorship project have successfully completed the programme.

The inaugural four-month scheme brought together 54 industry professionals representing airlines, airports, freight forwarders, shippers, ground handlers, tech, drone companies, and industry associations.

The initiative ran between January and May and was designed to support the development of talented women in aviation and logistics, offering them a different perspective in career development as well as opportunities to learn from diverse practices and cultures.

“This program was very well prepared, well framed, and with good communication in all steps of the process, A-class mentors and an uplifting community,” said DHL Aviation director of revenue optimization, Vanessa Hubert, who took part in the scheme.

“I am truly impressed by the program and very thankful for this opportunity.”

The women said the programme had sharpened their leadership skills, expanded their network, given them opportunities to speak at industry conferences and in one case, successfully transition to a management role.

Although not in the original scope of the program, several mentors reported reverse-mentorship outcomes, receiving support for projects beyond their immediate employment, or broadening their perspectives on the needs of the new generation of talent.

The WAL mentorship program also gave rise to an in-company women mentorship program at a major American cargo airline.

Founder and managing director of consulting firm Change Horizon and co-founder of WAL, Céline Hourcade, commented: “Inspiring positive change with concrete solutions is part of our DNA at WAL. Seeing how many mentorship participants plan to continue fostering their relationships and reaping the benefits in the years to come is immensely rewarding and provides us with a license to continue our work.”

“The need for such mentoring will only increase in the future as more and more women are joining our wonderful industry. We call businesses to take advantage of this growing talent group with more formal and informal mentoring. With the workforce shortage crisis this industry is facing right now, the need to attract diverse profiles is as urgent as ever.”

WAL plans to launch a second mentorship program in the autumn following continued interest from new candidates, as well as requests from some participants of the first program to take part in the scheme again.

From left to right: Justina Messeiller, senior consultant, Change Horizon; Vitaly Smilianets , founder and chief executive of Awery Aviation Software; Ariaen Zimmerman, air cargo consultant; Michelle Lawrence, director of marketing, Airline Services International; Lesley Cripps, director of sales, CargoFlash; Glyn Hughes, director general, TIACA; Donna Mullins, vice president, Kale Info Solutions; Steven Polmans, vice-president of business development and free zone regulatory affairs, Abu Dhabi Airports; Sarah Van Gelder, cargo community solution manager, Nallian; Céline Hourcade, founder and managing director of Change Horizon and co-Founder of WAL.

Silk Way West celebrates a decade in the air

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Chris Lewis

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June 21, 2022

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Azerbaijan-based Silk Way West Airlines is celebrating its 10th anniversary. The company, describes itself as the largest cargo airline in operated its first flight with a Boeing 747-400F on the Baku – Frankfurt-Hahn route in July 2012. Its hub is at Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Baku.

Silk Way West Airlines president Wolfgang Meier said: “I am very proud of all that the airline has achieved in such a short time. To all our loyal customers and partners, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude. I trust we will continue to fly higher and faster towards achieving our mission to become one of the leading cargo airlines in the world.”

Get ready for capacity crunch, warns forwarding chief

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Chris Lewis

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June 20, 2022

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Forwarders must prepare for an airfreight volume crunch driven by lack of ocean capacity, said executive director of the Airforwarders Association (AfA), Brandon Fried.

He told members of the Los Angeles Air Cargo Association (LAACA) on 20 June that a forecast surge in demand for US air cargo capacity will be largely driven by the situation 30,000 feet below on the water.

However, he added, AfA members can rise to the challenge through better communication.

Fried told the gathering that the capacity crunch will be driven by a perfect storm of cancelled China to US sailings, congestion at US airports, warehouse scarcity, labor shortage and rising inflation.

“The challenges for ocean carriers are well documented and we understand that they are looking after profit margins, but air capacity is already constrained by multiple factors,” said Fried.

“Congestion at major airports is exacerbating the strain on supply chains across the US.

“To rise to these challenges, the air forwarding community must better communicate with each other and learn to be adaptable.

“AfA is already meeting this challenge, driving the debate and developing new strategies to help the industry unite and find a common voice.”

In May, AfA launched its Airport Congestion Committee (ACC) which will present findings to private, public, and government entities as workable policies for urgent new legislation.

“The air cargo community, and the transport industry at large, has been served up an alphabet of disasters over the past few years but AfA has continued to support its members and campaign for the air cargo community at large,” said Fried.

“We do this not only through lobbying on behalf of our members but also by actively creating solutions to speed up the passing of necessary legislation by the US government.”

Record profit for Qatar Airways

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Chris Lewis

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June 20, 2022

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Qatar Airways Group reported a record net profit of QAR 5.6 billion (US$ 1.54 billion) during the fiscal year 2021/22. Overall revenue increased to QAR 52.3 billion (US$ 14.4 billion), up 78% compared to last year and 2% higher than 2019/20, the last pre-Covid full financial year.

Qatar Airways Cargo revenue grew 25% while passenger revenue rose by 210%. It transported more than 3 million tonnes of air freight and secured an 8% share of the global market, including more than 600 million doses of Covid vaccines over the course of the pandemic to date

Despite the challenges the carrier opened new routes including Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire; Lusaka, Zambia; Harare, Zimbabwe; Almaty, Kazakhstan and Kano and Port Harcourt, Nigeria in addition to resuming flights to key markets across Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

Happy return to AA Cargo

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Chris Lewis

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June 16, 2022

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American Airlines has appointed Emma Oliver as director, cargo sales Europe, Africa & Middle East (EMEA) and Asia Pacific (APAC). She returns to cargo as regional sales key leader following two years in the airline’s passenger business and will be based at London Heathrow.

Easy alterations with Air France KLM

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Chris Lewis

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June 16, 2022

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Air France KLM Martinair Cargo (AFKLMP) has added a “Modify my booking” feature to its myCargo platform. It allows customers to alter their booking any time, without having to cancel their booking in order to resubmit altered data such as date/time, weight/size or shipment destination.

Lufthansa opens arts centre

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Chris Lewis

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June 16, 2022

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Lufthansa Cargo has opened its new Fine Arts warehouse facility at its Frankfurt Hub. At 155 square meters, the ARTcube in the Lufthansa Cargo Center offers twice as much space storage of high-value fine arts of all kinds.

Equipment includes a ventilation system with heating and cooling functions enables targeted temperature control. Vertical window strips on the facade allow natural lighting, with a supporting lighting system. Access is controlled and monitored by sensitive security technology. It is possible to book an individual attendant for Fine Arts shipments, especially on the ground.

Etihad’s plan B to develop green cooling systems

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Chris Lewis

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June 14, 2022

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Etihad Cargo has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Luxembourg-based manufacturer B Medical Systems to develop and launch an airline-specific passive temperature-controlled solution for vaccines and pharmaceuticals.

They will develop more sustainable temperature-controlled container units that work utilising passive cooling technology, capable of retaining temperatures of -80 to 25 degrees Celsius for up to five days without requiring an external power source, with load capabilities ranging from two to 1,500 litres. The reduction in power needed to maintain the temperature for temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical shipments will significantly reduce carbon emissions. B Medical Systems’ current product portfolio includes products that use solar energy as well as green refrigerants.

Trials of the sustainable containers will commence shortly, and a commercial launch date will be announced following the successful completion of the trials.