Australia’s largest airline and national carrier, Qantas Freight has joined the cargo.one platform. , Forwarders can book capacity for general cargo up to 10,000kg on flights from major US cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago, and from London, UK, to destinations in Australia, New Zealand and other points in the region.
Air One expands reach into Asia
Air One is to expand its services into China, Japan and Malaysia after it won new flight approvals in Asia. Air One is the commercial sales partner of a growing network of airlines currently operating a combined fleet of 11 Boeing 747-400 freighters, offering capacity to charter brokers, freight forwarders and logistics providers.
This expansion follows successful operating licence applications by affiliate airline, British carrier, One Air from the Civil Aviation Administration of China for flights to major Chinese airports, including Tianjin, Zhengzhou and Hangzhou. One Air has also secured Operator Approvals from Japan and Malaysia’s aviation authorities.
Since 2020, Air One has organised over 3,750 flights, including more than 1,400 originating in Hong Kong, where Air One will open a commercial office.
One Air added a nose-loading Boeing 747-400 freighter to its fleet in September, and plans to take delivery of two Boeing 777 freighters in 2025.
Air One chief commercial officer, Peter Scholten said: “This is a pivotal moment for Air One and ensures we continue to expand across Asia and beyond. The new regulatory approvals and fleet growth being delivered by the airlines we represent reinforce our ability to deliver exceptional service.”
‘FedEx effect’ boosts global economy by $85 billion
FedEx contributed more than $85 billion in direct impact to the global economy in 2024, or around 0.1% of the world’s total net economic output said the carrier in its released its annual economic impact report, published on 29 October.
Produced in consultation with data an analysis firm Dun & Bradstreet (Nit measures what it terms the ‘FedEx Effect’ on accelerating the flow of goods and ideas that generate economic growth.
The company claims the most extensive transportation network in the world, serving more than 220 countries and territories and employs over 500,000 people at some 5,000 facilities, moving an average of 16 million packages per day.
FedEx adds that its indirect impact activity also helps drive production increases across industries, an estimated $39 billion in 2024.
FedEx Corporation president and chief executive Raj Subramaniam said: “At FedEx, we have a vision to make supply chains smarter for everyone by leveraging advanced data and technology to better serve our customers and their customers, thereby extending our reach and impact. The ‘FedEx Effect’ represents our relentless commitment to excellence, economic growth, and the communities where we live and work.”
Wouter Roels, president, FedEx Europe, added: “At FedEx we keep the world moving, and are very proud of the impact we have on economic activity across industries such as technology, energy, healthcare, and pharmaceuticals.
“This is a particularly special year as we celebrate 25 years of our hub at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, the largest outside the US, which is a significant driver of local economic activity in the surrounding communities.”
FedEx said it had continued to improve its network in 2024, notably through the ongoing optimization of its surface network into a single transportation system. Other multi-year investments continued including the completion of a hub at Dubai World Central Airport and a secondary sort facility at Memphis International Airport. The company also added advanced sorting equipment to existing facilities and additional warehouse capacity.
It continues to invest in renewable energy to power its facilities, electrification of its pickup and delivery fleet, and carbon sequestration research to advance natural carbon capture solutions for adoption across the transportation industry.
It also connects small business customers with subject matter experts from FedEx and other industries through its ‘SME Connect’ platform.
FedEx Cares meanwhile promotes charitable giving, employee volunteer efforts, and in-kind shipping services around the world. In FY 2024, the company’s charitable contributions totalled more than $55 million to its direct partnerships with NGOs and non-profit organisations.
Lufthansa flies first Vietnam-LAX freighter
Lufthansa Cargo operated its first direct transpacific freighter flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Los Angeles on Sunday October 27, operated by its AeroLogic joint venture subsidary. The aircraft had previously taken off from Frankfurt, Germany for Vietnam on Saturday, October 26. It then flew back from Los Angeles, arriving at the carrier’s home hub on Monday, October 28. Lufthansa Cargo chief executive, Ashwin Bhat, said: “This new freighter connection highlights our commitment to connecting economies by responding to the demand of the rapidly growing economy in Vietnam, which can now be seamlessly connected to the US even faster. This service reinforces our purpose of enabling global business, which is why we are continuously examining the possibilities of establishing new routes and growing in dynamic market environments.”
United set to become biggest US airline to Africa in new winter schedule
United Airlines said it would add nearly 4,600 flights per day including service to four new international destinations in its winter schedule. Three times a week 767-300ER flights between Newark/New York and Marrakesh launch on October 24 and, combined with United’s recently announced services from Washington Dulles to Dakar, Senegal launching in May 2025, United says it will serve more destinations in Africa than any other US carrier. There are also expanded weekly flights from Washington DC to Accra, Ghana beginning in October and Lagos, Nigeria beginning in December.
It has also become the only US carrier to fly to Cebu, Philippines, with daily 737-800 aircraft from service from Tokyo -Narita.
Several seasonal routes are extended into the fall and winter months, including to Milan and Rome from Chicago O’Hare and Madrid from Washington Dulles now flying until December 2024 and daily flights between Washington/Dulles and Lisbon, now extended to January 2025.
It will make its second daily service between San Francisco and Seoul-Incheon year-round. United will also add a second daily flight between Los Angeles and Hong Kong.
The airline is also increasing flights between Los Angeles and Shanghai with daily flights starting October 26 on a Boeing 787-9.
In Latin America, it is adding a year-round service to from Houston to Medellin, Colombia, complementing existing routes to Bogota from Newark/ New York and Houston. From February 15, United will be the only carrier connecting the Northeast US to Dominica with a weekly Boeing 737-700 service. United is also planning additional servicess from Chicago, Houston, Washington DC, and Los Angeles to Buenos Aires, Argentina; Guatemala City, Guatemala; Morelia, Mexico; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and San Salvador, El Salvador.
Etihad launches Toronto connection
Etihad Airways’ operated its first Airbus A350 passenger flight from its Abu Dhaibi hub to Toronto Pearson Airport on October 27. The carrier is also due to start daily flights to Boston November 1, six months after launching the route. The airline now flies 42 times a week to North America: twice daily to New York JFK, and daily to Boston, Chicago, Toronto and Washington DC.
Etihad Cargo will meanwhile introduce additional frequencies to existing routes and a new passenger destination, Nairobi in its new winter schedule from November 2024.
In Europe, it will add 36 weekly flights, with Frankfurt, Paris, Rome and Milan moving to double-daily services along with additional flights to Manchester, Zurich and Düsseldorf. In Southeast Asia, services to Thailand will increase by nine flights, with Bangkok reaching triple-daily frequency and Phuket increasing to 20 flights weekly. In the US, flights to Boston will increase from four to daily.
In South Asia and the Indian Ocean, the Malé route, which currently has 14 weekly flights, will switch entirely to widebody aircraft starting from December 15. Additionally, widebody frequencies will increase for Bengaluru from two to three flights per week, and Hyderabad will increase from nine to 11 flights weekly.
The new A320 route to Nairobi, also launches on December 15 with four weekly flights.
Etihad is also promised further additional capacity in summer 2025, with 41 extra flights per week to Europe, Southeast Asia, Australia, and the Middle East including double-daily flights to Manchester, Barcelona, Madrid, Paris, and Zurich. In June 2025, it will introduce two new destinations—Warsaw and Prague—with four weekly flights to each.
Qatar launches Wiremind optimiser
Qatar Airways Cargo has launched Wiremind’s Cargostack Optimiser revenue management suite. The carrier’s revenue management teams now benefit from improved AI-generated recommendations, an intuitive user interface, a fully configurable business rules engine and an overbooking strategy recommendation algorithm. Both parties undertook extensive efforts to validate the machine learning models, including testing and iterating on multiple approaches to deliver significantly improved revenue results.
WestJet rolls out Priority product
Canadian carrier WestJet Cargo will launch its new Priority product from November 4. It gives eligible cargo top priority for loading and transport, guaranteeing that shipments travel on specific flights and is designed to meet the needs of industries requiring fast, reliable transportation of critical goods, such as healthcare and manufacturing.
Priority offers reduced tender cut-off times at WestJet Cargo’s main hubs—Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto and Westjet plans to expand to more hubs in the future. For narrowbody flights, the cut-off time is shortened to two hours before departure instead of the usual three hours, while widebody flights require three hours instead of the usual six. In the unlikely event that a Priority shipment does not fly as confirmed, the Priority charge will be fully refunded.
Dachser celebrates half century stateside
Dachser USA Air & Sea Logistics, the US subsidiary of German-owned global logistics provider DACHSER, celebrated its 50th anniversary on September 16.
The family-owned logistics operator from Germany opened a location in New York in 1974, moving into an overseas region for the first time. Over the decades that followed, Dachser USA expanded its footprint across the country; a presence on the US West Coast followed in 1998, with the opening of an office in Los Angeles, California. Further branches came shortly after, Chicago in 1999, and, among other locations, Charlotte, Boston and Atlanta in 2005. Detroit is the latest addition to the US branch network in, opened in 2018.
In the past two years alone, five US branches have relocated to other facilities within their home region, to accommodate growth or get closer to customers or to logistics infrastructure like airports and ports. In 2023, the Atlanta branch opened a dedicated contract logistics, Dachser’s largest in the US so far in terms of pallet spaces and overall surface.
The company has also continued its expansion in the Americas, with own branches in Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Peru. As of 2023, around 650 employees across 23 locations in the Americas have moved 98,500 shipments totaling 281,400 tons.
Dachser is now seeking to integrate its activities in the Americas with its European Logistics road network, offering single-source door-to-door solutions.
CCT captures UK’s Tower
Massachusetts-based Cold Chain Technologies has acquired fellow packaging specialist Tower Cold Chain in the UK for an undisclosed sum.
CCT provides advanced thermal packaging and digital monitoring solutions for temperature-sensitive life sciences products.
Founded in 1999, Tower designs, manufactures, and operates a fleet of passive reusable temperature-controlled containers used to transport high-value life sciences products from its headquarters at Theale west of London and its network of more than 20 service hubs on five continents.
CCT chief executive, Ranjeet Banerjee said: “Tower has developed an impressive portfolio of highly technical, robust reusable products capable of exceeding the stringent requirements of global pharmaceutical clients. This combination further establishes CCT as the leader in temperature-controlled packaging solutions with unmatched thermal engineering expertise, digital monitoring and tracking, global manufacturing, and commitment to sustainability.”
Tower chief executive, Niall Balfour responded: “We are excited to leverage CCT’s robust product portfolio, manufacturing capabilities, proprietary track-and-trace software, and leading R&D expertise to accelerate our worldwide growth. We have long admired CCT as a leader in our industry and believe it is the ideal partner to support Tower’s next chapter of growth. We look forward to working with Ranjeet and his team to better serve our customers, our employees, and the entire life sciences community.”
Tower is CCT’s fourth acquisition since partnering with Aurora Capital Partners in 2019 during this time it has expanded its portfolio of sustainable packaging solutions, entered key new life sciences verticals, launched its digital platform, and grown its global manufacturing and service capabilities.