Austrian Airlines is to reintroduce a Vienna-Montreal service, suspended in March 2020 due to the Covid pandemic. It will be served from 1 October year-round, three times a week by a Boeing 767. Since mid-July, Star Alliance partner Air Canada has been operating a codeshare flight with Austrian Airlines from Vienna to Toronto three times a week.
IAG goes live on CargoAi
IAG Cargo’s global capacity is now available on the www.CargoAi.co platform. It allows freight forwarders to obtain quotations and booking in over 60 countries for British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, Vueling, and LEVEL services.
Vic Karjian steps in at Amerijet
Amerijet International executive chairman Vic Karjian is to step in as interim chief executive from 18 September following the departure of Tim Strauss. The Miami-based cargo airline will meanwhile continue the surch for a permanent successor to Mr Strauss, who will serve as an advisor to the company for the rest of the year.
Board member Bob Horne said that having led the Company since 2016, Vic Karjian was “extremely familiar with the company’s customers and operations and will provide for continuity in the business during this interim period, adding: The company appreciates Tim’s many contributions over this past year, and we wish him well in his next chapter.”
Gulf Air signs Saudi and Pakistan handling deals
Saudi Logistics Services (SAL) has signed a seven-year agreement with Bahrain national carrier Gulf Air to provide ground handling solutions at all the Kingdom’s main airports. In 2020 only SALhandled a total of 900,000kg for Gulf Air in the country.
Gulf Air has also awarded a multi-year handling contract to Gerry’s dnata at six airports in Pakistan, -Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Multan and Faisalabad.
In recent years Gerry’s dnata has significantly invested in facilities, equipment, training and technology, including a new import cargo centre at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi. The GDP-certified facility has played a key role in the safe handling of COVID-19 vaccines, rapid test kits and other essential goods. It has also expanded its operations at Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore and opened a new export cargo terminal.
Wise move for Emirates
Emirates SkyCargo is to provide direct access to its flights for its cargo customers through the CargoWise platform. They can now make cargo bookings direct on the platform for most of their requirements after completing a short registration process. With the roll out of under way, by the end of September, most customers will be able to make bookings on through the platform by the end of September.
Thominet moves to exec chair role at ECS
Current chief executive Adrien Thominet has been appointed executive chairman of global GSSA ECS Group, succeeding Bertrand Schmoll. He has been with ECS Group for more than 25 years, becoming its chief operating officer in 2011 and then chief executive in 2017. In his four years as chief executive, ECS Group has seen rapid growth in its network and client base and has developed the Total Cargo Management. It represents over airlines of all sizes across the globe, and provides capacity support to around 10,000 freight forwarders, transporting a record 1.1 million tons of cargo in 2020.
Leipzig leaps ahead
Annual freight volume at Leipzig/Halle has already exceeded the 1 million tonne mark in August, according to the airport authority, Mitteldeutsche Flughafen.
Volume at Europe’s fourth-largest air cargo hub reached 1,025,187 tonnes, an increase of 18.4% compared to the same period in the previous year. The 125,050 tonnes processed in August alone represented an increase of 15.1% compared with the same month in the previous year.
The total amount of freight handled in the previous year set a new record at more than 1.38 million tonnes.
The airport is serving as a transhipment centre for medical relief supplies and protective equipment in the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic. Freight charter flights have transported millions of Covid-19 tests, for example.
The airport is also DHL’s largest hub in the world and the first regional air freight centre for Amazon Air in Europe.
SriLankan is first customer for WFS CenterPoint
SriLankan Airlines has become the first new customer at Worldwide Flight Services’ (WFS) CenterPoint cargo terminal at London Heathrow. The airline has awarded WFS with a 32-month contract, from September, to provide cargo handling and airside transport for its Airbus A330-300 flights connecting London and Colombo. SriLankan currently operates a weekly flight on the route but is expected to increase frequencies as schedules are restored after Covid. Prior to the pandemic, SriLankan Airlines carried some 9,500 tonnes of cargo annually between the two countries.
WFS now operates over 350,000 sq. ft. of cargo facilities at Heathrow. In the last 12 months, the UK operation has also won a new contract with Gulf Air and extended its existing agreement with Vietnam Airlines.
CenterPoint, which opened this summer, enables WFS to provide offers an off-airport location to complement its longstanding presence at Heathrow’s World Cargocentre. The building also provides the capacity needed to grow its portfolio, which currently consists of 14 international airlines.
The building incorporates a mezzanine floor suitable for handling ecommerce, mail and courier shipments in addition to 30,000sq ft of ground floor space.
Ceva opens Singapore pharma site
Ceva Logistics has opened a temperature-controlled airfreight station next to Singapore’s Changi International Airport. It offers areas with 15-25°C Celsius and 2 to 8°C and forms part of the forwarder’s Temperature Sensitive Solution pharmaceutical logistics offering. Ceva remains committed to operating a network of more than 40 similar stations by the end of 2021 with Atlanta, Chicago, Frankfurt, Madrid, Budapest and Mumbai scheduled to open in the coming months.
Geodis offers greener airfreight option
Freight forwarder Geodis is now offering its customers alternative fuels for air and seafreight, in addition to the road transport option it already offers. The fuels are produced using food and agricultural waste (mainly cooking oil) and their use allows for a massive reduction in CO2 emissions of at least 80% for air and 90% for sea transport, along with a reduction in other pollutants.