DoKaSch Temperature Solutions receives has gained technical approval by Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways for its Opticooler active containers. Forwarders can now use the packaging solution on all flights operated by Japan’s two largest airlines. The technical approvals allow the Opticooler to be used in the cargo holds of the two airlines’ fleets. The two carriers operate a hub at Narita International Airport where half of Japan’s total pharmaceutical trade is handled.
Emirates launches flights to Chicago’s Rockford International
Emirates SkyCargo has started freighter flights to Chicago Rockford International Airport (RFD), the first international scheduled cargo service to the Midwest gateway.
The Dubai-based airline will operate scheduled and ad-hoc flights to the gateway with a combination of Boeing 777-F full freighter and Boeing 777-300ER ‘preighter’, complenting existing services through the main city gateway, Chicago O’Hare and Rickenbacker International Airport in Columbus.
Emirates divisional senior vice president Nabil Sultan said the new route would add “yet more connectivity to further boost trade between the US Midwest and the rest of the world.”
Executive director of Chicago Rockford International Airport, Mike Dunn, added: “Securing our first international scheduled airline air cargo service with a major global airline like Emirates marks a major milestone in the history of our airport.”
He thanked the team at Emirates for “the tremendous amount of hard work, professionalism and commitment they have shown in making this project happen. I also want to thank my cargo team and the team at Emery Air for stepping up and coming through a rigorous compliance process. We have all been on a long journey to get to this point, but is a journey that is now really only just beginning and where we look forward to developing a long-term relationship with Emirates.
“This exciting new air cargo service will provide added choice for importers and exporters looking to ship into and out of the Chicago Midwest market and wider catchment area, where this new network combination of Emirates and RFD can play a vital role in providing the flexibility, cost savings and efficiencies air cargo shippers are looking for as we enter a new era of air cargo operations.”
Rockford International is 68 miles northwest of Chicago O’Hare Airport and is the 17th largest cargo airport in North America. Currently, fifteen international airlines serve destinations around the world and the Airport is also home to UPS’ second largest hub in north America and is a major base for Amazon Air.
Releye RLP gets a big sister – the Releye RAP
Envirotainerhas launched its Releye RAP temperature-controlled airfreight container, complemented by its new Control Tower managed service. With a five-pallet capacity, it is the largest of the company’s new generation Releye containers and is designed to meet the strictest requirements for pharmaceuticals. Integrated live monitoring gives insight into product condition, location and progress of the shipment, says Envirotainer.
Based on the same platform and technology as the three-pallet Releye RLP launched in 2021, the Releye RAP is the second in a family of temperature-controlled containers that Envirotainer is developing. Envirotainer says it offers the largest internal volume for temperature-controlled air freight shipments, and hence makes more efficient use of air cargo capacity, achieving the best total landed cost and the lowest CO2 footprint in the industry.
The Envirotainer Control Tower service is a global team of operators that follow shipments’ every move, ready to respond within minutes to any critical event. The service is included with all Releye leases.
Swiss WorldCargo, a major carrier of intensive care pharmaceutical shipments, will shortly become one of the first carriers to shortly approve the Releye RAP container and add it to its portfolio. Its Head of cargo at Swiss International Air Lines, Lorenzo Stoll, said: “We really appreciate our close partnership with Envirotainer and are proud to be at the forefront to soon operate the new Envirotainer Releye RAP and welcoming it into our temperature sensitive pharmaceuticals solutions portfolio.
“The Releye RAP sets a new benchmark for temperature-controlled five-pallet solutions. It combines newest technology and reaches outstanding CO2 reductions per shipment. This fully aligns with our own focus on sustainable offering and continued reduction of the carbon footprint.”
Envirotainer chief executive Peter Gisel-Ekdahl, commented: “When we launched the new Releye RLP in May 2021, we raised the bar in cold chain transportation to new heights of control, monitoring and autonomy. Now, with the launch of Releye RAP, we raise the bar yet another notch in terms of value and sustainability.”
Chief business development officer, Fredrik Linnér, added: “The COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing. Air cargo capacity is constrained and there’s a huge demand for intercontinental shipments. Organisations that qualify the Releye RAP will secure access to the most cost-efficient and sustainable solution for temperature-controlled airfreight.”
SmartKargo gives Amerijet customers a smoother flight
Amerijet International Airlines has partnered with cargo management solution SmartKargo to replace its legacy system and provide a streamlined user experience.
SmartKargo offers a suite of fully integrated tools and solutions to support all essential cargo functions such as customer management, pricing, sales, operations, warehouse management loading and unloading and ramp operations.
The partnership with SmartKargo comes at a time when Amerijet – which operates a dedicated fleet of freighters from its primary hub at Miami International Airport to the Caribbean, Latin America and Europe – is deploying a series of strategic digital investments to improve service to its customers
The carrier’s chief executive, Tim Strauss said: “SmartKargo will take Amerijet to the next level. Our customers and employees will find it easier to use than any other tool. SmartKargo’s end-to-end platform is accessible from any device; our global network will be delighted with this change.”
SmartKargo chief executive, Milind Tavshikar, added: “We are pleased to support the growth and digital transformation of Amerijet, led by a forward-looking executive who is always innovating. Tim and his team are transforming the company into a cutting-edge enterprise that will offer their customers a range of real-time shipment and business management tools needed to operate profitably in the digital age. This is an exciting partnership for Amerijet, and one of the first dedicated all-cargo airlines in the world to adopt the SmartKargo platform.
Iraq first with dnata digital system
Handling company dnata has implemented its ‘OneCargo’ digital processes at Erbil in Iraq, ahead of the advanced tool’s planned global launch.
OneCargo automates key business and operational functions, including safety and quality monitoring, reporting and ULD management, with an integrated, Cloud-based platform. AI-driven tools and analytics provide enhanced visibility of sales and business performance, allowing customers to match real-time demand with available capacity. It also eliminates manual check sheets.
Having launched the system in Iraq, dnata plans to gradually implement OneCargo at stations including Pakistan, Switzerland, UAE, US and Zanzibar. It says that, by 2023, OneCargo will have a user base of over 2,000 staff members at ten stations in six countries.
Divisional senior vice president for airport operations, David Barker, said: “The implementation of OneCargo in Erbil is a major milestone which paves the way for the global launch of this advanced digital solution. In addition to improving operational and commercial performance, OneCargo will help us drive synergies across our international network and ultimately offer more value to our customers.”
Turkish Cargo moves all operations to new Istanbul mega-hub
Turkish Cargo is now handling all its Istanbul operations at the city’s new airport, following the transfer of freighter flights to its new SMARTIST facility.
The carrier moved its bellyhold cargo operations to the Istanbul Airport following its opening in April 2019, but continued to handle freighter flights at the old Ataturk Airport.
The relocation operation took 72 hours, performed by 50 trucks at the Relocation Control Center established at the Ataturk Airport. During the operation the trucks covered a distance of 16,000km, moving 4,125 pieces of equipment to Istanbul Airport.
Chief cargo officer of Turkish Airlines, Turhan Ozen, said: “During the last three years, we carried out a highly substantial operation in both of our hubs. While we made use of our freighters at the Ataturk Airport, we benefited from our passenger aircraft and the paxfre (cargo flights operated by a passenger aircraft without passengers on board) capacity at Istanbul Airport. We performed approximately 30 thousand flights, 23,000 of which were performed by making use of our freighters and 6,000 of which were by paxfre, and we transported more than 4 million air cargo shipments, 2.5 million tons of which were transported from/to the Ataturk Airport and 1.8 million tons of which were transported from/to the Istanbul Airport.”
“Now, we are gathering the air cargo operations which we have been carrying out on a dual hub basis without compromising our service quality, under a single roof at Istanbul Airport. Thanks to SMARTIST, our new home with all of its processes equipped with autonomous and robotic systems, we are now ready for the future.”
The SMARTIST facility will ultimately have an annual capacity of 4 million tons on an area of 340,000sq metres (3.66m sq ft) on the completion of all phases. It is equipped with technologies such as Augmented Reality, Automatic Storage Systems, Robotic Process Automation and Unmanned Ground Vehicles,
The last Turkish Cargo flight to take off from Ataturk Airport was TK6455 to Khartoum, Sudan, operated by an Airbus 330F.
DHL signs up for 33 million litres of green fuel from DHL
DHL Global Forwarding has signed a deal with Air France KLM Martinair Cargo (AFKLMP) to buy 33 million litres of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), described as one of the most significant SAF purchases in the forwarding industry.
The initiative is part of Deutsche Post DHL Group’s Sustainability Roadmap, which aims to spend €7 billion on green technologies by 2030 and reduce all logistics-related emissions to zero by 2050.
When purchasing a DHL service, customers can select a sustainable option and the emissions reduction will be credited to their account. Since it is nearly impossible to physically track SAF from production to the aircraft, this ‘book & claim’ scheme offers a digital accounting system to track and transfer emissions reductions from sustainable fuels. As companies can own SAF by buying and selling it without physically tracing the fuel through the supply chain, this makes SAF accessible for all companies, says DHL.
AFKLMP has made a number of similar deals with customers including a pledge to use SAF on flights from Nairobi in Kenya to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, carrying Total Touch Cargo Holland agricultural and horticultural products.
Bolloré Logistics in Mexico and Air France KLM Cargo are also sponsoring up to 30% of clients’ purchases that use SAF.
Etihad learns to speak Chinese
Etihad Cargo has launched a Mandarin edition of its website. With China contributing to more than 20 per cent of Etihad Cargo’s operations, the country represents one of the UAE national carrier’s biggest markets. All visitors to etihadcargo.com from China will automatically be routed to the Mandarin version of the site, where they will be able to access information about product offerings, as well as station capabilities, feedback options, and claims’ details in the local language.
TIACA appoints green awards jury
The International Air Cargo Association (TIACA) has appointed a six-strong jury for its 2021 Air Cargo Sustainability Awards, run in partnership with IT solutions providers CHAMP Cargosystems. The two awards recognize outstanding businesses and industry initiatives to make air cargo more sustainable. – one for start-up/small business and the second for corporate and established businesses.
The jury comprises Chris McDermott, chief executive, CHAMP Cargo Systems, Jaisey Yip, general manager, cargo and logistics development, Changi Airport Group, Liana Coyne, director, Coyne Airways, Andrea Tang, international trade lawyer, FIATA, Patricia Varela, assistant manager operations innovation and change management, IATA and Hendrik Leyssens, vice president, global operations, cargo, Swissport.
The three finalists in the Start-up/Small Business category will be asked to share their initiative with the audience during the Executive Summit in San Francisco, March 22-25. The audience will then participate in the decision as to which initiative will receive the first-place prize of $10,000 USD and the two runner-up prizes of $2,500 USD each.
The winner in the Corporate category will be announced ahead of the event and recognized for their efforts in making air cargo more sustainable.
Women’s group launches mentoring scheme
Women in Aviation and Logistics (WAL) has launched its mentorship scheme, matching 27 industry leaders – 16 women and 11 men – with aspiring female professionals around the world. The free-to-join programme will run until April, with mentors and mentees making a minimum four-hour commitment over four months. Participants will provide their feedback and lessons learnt at the end of their mentorship for further improvement of the programme.
The programme aims to empower female professionals who will be the future heads of cargo companies and board members.
Chief commercial officer of aviation software firm Awery, and WAL mentor, Tristan Koch: said: “I am delighted to be part of the WAL initiative and I hope that my experience of the air cargo industry will be helpful in ensuring that everyone has an equal opportunity of succeeding in what is a vitally important global service. I was fortunate to be one of the inaugural mentors on the American Airlines’ mentorship programme promoting female development throughout the company.
“I saw the incredible success stories that emanated from that and am keen to take that to the wider industry.”
Megha Palkar, assistant manager at IATA’s Cargo iQ quality program and WAL mentee, added: “The mentoring programme and database of speakers are concrete steps that can change the tone of the entire industry. I am looking forward to learning from the experience of ‘people that made it’ and making air cargo a more innovative and equitable space for all.”
Over 50 delegates joined the WAL mentorship kick-off call hosted by Céline Hourcade (pictured top left) and Meantime Communications’ Emma Murray (bottom left).