Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) has launched a smart new uniform for its cargo and ground handling employees in North America and the rest of the world.
The roll-out of 125,000 items will start in September and be completed in 2022 for staff working in cargo handling, ramp handling, passenger services and baggage handling across WFS’ network of 170 major airport stations in 20 counties.
The new uniform is based on the blue and red of WFS’ corporate identity.
Delta Cargo is marking its 75th anniversary this month, tracing its humble beginnings from a shipment of fresh mushrooms on board a DC-3 to Atlanta in August 1946.
In that first week of operation, the airline carried a 64-year-old, $1,500 soup tureen; 1,100 lbs of auto parts; 450 lbs of candy; and a box of silver coins.
But in a sense, the history goes back further; Delta planes had served the Allies during World War II, transporting everything from food and surgical supplies to weapons and auto parts overseas, which helped Delta turn cargo transport into a full-fledged business.
Milestones in the decades since included shipping donated blood through the American Red Cross to United Nations forces during the Korean War; the first international cargo flights to the Caribbean and Venezuela, in 1953; the first dog to fly on a commercial jet from Houston to New York City in 1959; .a Delta L-100 cargo plane carrying NASA’s Surveyor 3 spacecraft from Los Angeles to Cape Kennedy, Florida; and the launch of DASH, which has become Delta’s most popular cargo product in 1970.
Bringing the story up to date, Delta opens its first Cargo Control Center to improve customer experience in 2017 and in the same year a Critical version of DASH was launched with distinctive pink packaging marking priority shipments.
Today, Delta Cargo carries on average 2.2 billion cargo tons every year including life-saving pharmaceuticals, organs for transplant, fresh flowers, seasonal produce or beloved pets.
It also regularly assists with humanitarian efforts, for example carrying over 800,000lbs of supplies to cities in need after Hurricane Maria struck in 2017.
And needless to say, it also has carried essential protective equipment and medical supplies around the world during the Covid pandemic.
Qatar Airways Cargo says it will roll out its third-party eBooking platform, WebCargo by Freightos across most of its worldwide network from 23 August. Forwarders in the carrier’s worldwide network will be able to place eBookings from online or offline origins with access to live rates and capacity on the platform.
Chief officer cargo, Guillaume Halleux said: “Within a short span of six months, we will complete our global rollout of WebCargo by Freightos on 23 August and I am proud of all our teams who have worked dedicatedly all these months to ensure a successful implementation.”
Earlier, the carrier announced the roll-out of the platform across the US.
New low-cost carrier Norse Atlantic Airways is looking to start operations next year, including flights between the US and London Gatwick and other European airports next year. The company says that demand for transatlantic travel will recover by late Q1 or early Q2 2022 that all its 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliners will be in operation next summer.
Norse has applied for a Norwegian Air Operating Certificate AOC and is in the process of applying for a British AOC. The Unite union in the UK welcomed the move, saying that it would be an opportunity for employees of former carrier Norwegian, who were made redundant in January.
Deutsche Post DHL Group has signed an agreement to acquire up to 100% of specialist European-based beverages forwarder JF Hillebrand Group and its subsidiaries for around €1.5 billion. It will be combined with DHL’s Freight division.
Hillebrand specialises in ocean freight forwarding, transport and logistics of beverages, non-hazardous bulk liquids and other products that require special care, using innovative flexitanks and ISO tank containers. It generated revenue of around €1.4 billion in the last twelve months and will ship some 500,000teu in 2021. The company has more than 2,700 employees worldwide.
DPDHL group chief executive Frank Appel, said: “With the growing maturity of our freight forwarding business, this bolt-on acquisition of Hillebrand is highly complementary to our existing portfolio. In line with our Group Strategy, we strengthen our core logistics business and deliver profitable long-term growth.”
DHL Global Forwarding, Freight, chief executive, Tim Scharwath, described the acquisition as “an exceptional opportunity and an excellent fit with our strategy. We are excited to work with the entire Hillebrand team to further develop their best-in-class business on our platform.”
DHL said it would benefit from Hillebrand’s know-how and customer experience in bulk liquids and other special care commodities and also offered a wide range of value-added services,.
Hillebrand would in turn benefit from DHL Global Forwarding’s network in over 190 countries and global forwarding expertise in air, ocean and road freight.
JF Hillebrand group chief executive and chairman, Cees van Gent, commented: “The two companies are a perfect match and we are pleased to announce our agreement to unite and form a future together. I am proud of what the Hillebrand teams in true collaboration with our loyal customers and vendors have built over our 177-year history and we now look forward to joining forces with Deutsche Post DHL Group.”
The transaction is subject to merger control clearance in certain jurisdictions, including the EU and US, expected in the coming months. DPDHL intends to fund the acquisition with available cash.
DSV Panalpina has completed its takeover of Agility’s Global Integrated Logistics business. The acquisition puts DSV is in the top three global logistics companies, with expected combined revenue of about DKK 160 billion (US$25.3bn)and a combined workforce of 75,000 employees in more than 90 countries.
It follows the Danish giant’s earlier purchases of Panalpina in 2019 and US-based UTi Worldwide in 2016.
GIL has an annual revenue of DKK 29 billion ($4.6 billion) with air and sea freight as the main contributor. The purchase will also increase DSV’s presence in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. It will also add 1.4 million square meters of warehousing capacity to DSV Solutions.
DSV Panalpina group chief executive Jens Bjørn Andersen said: “By adding the GIL network and competencies to our existing network, we improve our competitiveness across all three divisions: Air & Sea, Road and Solutions. This brings commercial synergies and cross-selling opportunities while at the same time providing our customers with an even higher service level and a one-stop-shop for logistics needs.”
The two organisations will be merged on a country-by-country process, which means that for customers and employees in many countries the coming period will be business as usual until the country-specific merger process is initiated.
Virgin Atlantic is to launch twice-weekly Airbus A330 flights from Edinburgh to Barbados on 5 December and twice weekly flights to Orlando, Florida in April 2022, reports Routes Online.
It will also start a three times a week seasonal A330-300 winter service from Manchester to Montego Bay, Jamaica from 6 November and increase frequencies from Manchester to Barbados from three times to five times a week.
The carrier will also launch a twice-weekly Boeing 787-9route from London Heathrow to Nassau, Bahamas from 20 November.
It will also return to St Lucia from 18 December with a three times a week A330-300 flight from Heathrow replacing the former service from London Gatwick.
It will also add four more flights a week to its Heathrow-Hong Kong schedule from September capacity to Hong Kong (HKG) using A350 aircraft.
IAG Cargo says it has transported over 10 million Covid vaccines worldwide on its constant Climate service. This includes a 4 million dose shipment to Abuja, Nigeria for UNICEF’s Covax initiative and 300,000 doses to Jamaica, donated by the UK government in partnership with its Crown Agents arm.
However, Crown Agents chief executive Fergus Drake said: “As of today, 29% of the world’s population has been vaccinated. Urgent help is needed to ensure 70% vaccine coverage in every country in 2022 as per the WHO’s recommendation.”
Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Cargo says it has reclaimed 90% of its pre-Covid destinations and recorded a 20% increase in tonnage compared to the same period in 2019.
The carrier currently services 72 network destinations across the Middle East, Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas and has an active fleet of 65 aircraft.
In the past month, it has introduced flights to Malaga, Mykonos, Santorini, Phuket and Vienna, providing additional belly-hold capacity between Europe and Asia.
Charter operations and a cabin loading initiative – which saw the carrier modify five of its Boeing 777 aircraft by removing seats to provide additional capacity on key routes such as Dhaka and Ho Chi Minh City – have enabled the Abu Dhabi-based carrier to service increased Asian demand, with record loads recently achieved on a number of flights,
So far this year, Etihad Cargo has operated over 200 charter flights to 30 destinations not serviced through its network, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Senegal, and others across Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas.
Qatar Airways Cargo and software provider WiseTech Global are implementing a direct data connection between their global operating systems, CROAMIS and CargoWise, respectively. Direct data feeds will remove extensive data duplication and reduce the burden on forwarders. Air waybill data from the forwarder will be immediately available to the global Qatar Airways ground handling network. Qatar Airways’ chief officer cargo, Guillaume Halleux, said it would help eliminate intermediate data exchange points between freight forwarders and airline operating systems, while removing technical risk and reducing costs.
