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WFS extends Lufthansa contract in Ireland

Ground Handling

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October 7, 2021

WFS extends Lufthansa contract in Ireland

Lufthansa has extended its cargo handling contract with Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) in Ireland.

The airline was one of WFS’ launch customers in Ireland in 2005 and has operations in Dublin, Cork and Shannon. The airline currently operates four flights between Dublin and Frankfurt, as well as twice-daily Dublin-Munich services.

WFS also provides handling services for Lufthansa’s trucking operations between Ireland, Frankfurt, Manchester and London.

WFS operates 4,500sq m of warehouse space at the three airports including the largest temperature-controlled facilities in Ireland. It now handles over 40,000 tonnes of cargo a year for clients in Ireland, including Swiss International Air Lines, which has also renewed its handling contract with WFS in the past 12 months.

General manager of WFS in Ireland, Simon Coomber, said: “We are proud to have retained this prestigious handling contract for so long. Lufthansa is highly respected for the quality of its cargo operations in Ireland, and we support the airline and its customers through our dedicated team’s clear understanding of its service requirements. WFS has shown its ability to adapt to Lufthansa’s products and growth goals and we are delighted to see our efforts rewarded. We look forward to continuing this long and successful partnership.”

Paris testbed for automonous cargo truck

Airports

Chris Lewis

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October 7, 2021

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Paris testbed for automonous cargo truck

Paris region airport operator Groupe ADP and Air France KLM Martinair Cargo have been testing an autonomous electric airside cargo transporter at Charles de Gaulle.

Produced by French startup OROK, it uses GPS and sensors to access loading and unloading areas close to the aircraft, supervised by a server through artificial intelligence. It can the 30 and 40 suitcases, containers or freight pallets and is could one day replace tractors and trailers usually used between cargo warehouses or baggage sorting centres and aircraft parking stands.

The solution was developed by OROK as its submission to an innovation challenge dedicated to cargo organized by Groupe ADP.

The vehicle is being tested at Air France Cargo’s G1XL cargo warehouse, transporting empty aircraft containers between two areas inside the warehouse using a first prototype vehicle.

Possible benefits of autonomous electric vehicles are reduced accidents, faster delivery and less space for maneuvering.

President and co-founder of OROK, Pierrick Boyer, said: “We strongly believe in the complete automation of the tarmac because, thanks to this type of solution, we bring operational peace of mind and better working conditions, while reducing operational costs and expenses related to accidents and the reprocessing of cargo and baggage. Not to mention the optimisation of flows and the ecological aspect since our solution is 100% electric.”

New freighter in quick-time for charter firm

Brokers

Chris Lewis

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October 7, 2021

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New freighter in quick-time for charter firm

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.”

Air cargo load factors surge again

Data & analysis

Chris Lewis

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October 6, 2021

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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

Airlines

Chris Lewis

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October 6, 2021

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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

Chris Lewis

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October 6, 2021

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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

Express

Chris Lewis

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October 6, 2021

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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

Technology

Chris Lewis

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October 6, 2021

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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

Ground Handling

Chris Lewis

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October 4, 2021

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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

Chris Lewis

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October 4, 2021

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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.