Abu Dhabi airline Etihad Cargo has implemented a customised version of Awery’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to manage its cargo chartering programme and help it meet a 35% surge in requests. It says the intelligent automation (IA)-based system will streamline operations, improve response times, and improve customer service. And allow Etihad Cargo to classify and prioritise charter queries, improve analytics and performance evaluation, as well as providing access to historical pricing data.
Emirates now on Cargo.one
Emirates SkyCargo is now live on the Cargo.one digital airfreight platform. Customers can access schedules, tariff and contract rates, and gain real-time access to available capacity. During the initial launch phase, the partnership will roll out in select countries in Europe before expanding across the Americas, Africa, the Far East and Australasia. Emirates SkyCargo’s four core products are listed on cargo.one, including Fresh, Fresh Breathe Airfreight Priority and general cargo.
New era for airfreight quality scheme
Marie Seco-Köppen is to take over from Lothar Moehle as Executive Director of the Cargo iQ. The airfreight quality organisation has also launched a new membership engagement scheme including a tiered membership program and scorecard for Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
Seco-Köppen brings over 20 years’ experience in delivering process improvements and digitalization, joining from the Im3pact AG transport consultancy. She is currently also Master Operating Plan (MOP) working group chair at Cargo iQ, said: “In our fragmented industry, quality standards and digitalization remain crucial to attain increased performance visibility, which is required to remove redundancies and jointly
drive-up service consistency for the shipper.”
Moehle is retiring in June after a 50-year career in air cargo and will formally step down in May. He commented: “Cargo iQ is taking the next step in driving quality in our industry by engaging members in two initiatives that put implementation transparency at the heart of the process, as well as ensuring all stakeholders have clear KPIs against which they can measure success and define improvements,” said Moehle.
“The scorecard system will be open for all air cargo stakeholders who engage with Cargo iQ members to use, to measure the quality of their partner’s service, but also their own performance.”
The scorecard is under development for forwarder-carrier and carrier-ground handling agent relationships, concentrates on measuring selected Cargo iQ milestones, including Notified for Delivery (NFD) performance and timely and complete information exchange.
The tier system scheme awards members Bronze, Silver, or Gold membership according to level of implementation and reporting conformance.
Unilode signs Air India ULD deal
Unilode Aviation Solutions has signed a service partnership to manage airfreight unit load devices for Air India.
It will provide management services, along with digitalised containers and pallets from its pool for the carrier’s 120-strong fleet of aircraft which serve 100 domestic and international destinations, offering bellyhold and cargo capacity.
Chief commercial officer, Mohammed Akhlaq, said that Unilode would acquire state-of-the-art ULDs for Air India, contributing to its sustainability goals, as well as providing network-wide global repair services.
He added: “As the owner of the world’s largest ULD fleet, our global reach and scale will ensure we can deliver throughout Air India’s network whilst we commit to acquiring new state-of-the-art ULDs to meet the demands.”
Unilode chief executive, Ross Marino, commented: “We are excited about Air India’s ambitious growth plans, and look forward to contributing to their success and supporting them with Unilode’s full-service ULD management solutions.”
Lufthansa launches first Brussels-Chicago freighter
Lufthansa Cargo will launch twice-weekly B777F freighter service between Brussels and Chicago O’Hare on 3 April, a service aimed mainly at exporters of pharma productions in one of Europe’s leading manufacturing countries.
The flights originate from Frankfurt’s main Frankfurt hub on Mondays and Wednesdays and will return directly there from Chicago.
Lufthansa said that Brussels International’s pharma facilities were second to none with the largest amount of suitable temperature controlled warehouse space in Europe and a closed cold chain from warehouse to aircraft, thanks to its Airside Pharma Transporters.
Brussels was the first world gateway to receive the CEIV Pharma certification, it added.
Lufthansa Cargo chief executive, Ashwin Bhat said: “With our new connection, we can now offer an even more attractive network, and in particular a direct connection for particularly time-critical freight.”
No let-up in cross-border trade, says DHL report
Geopolitics has had little effect on the trend towards globalisation, except in a few specific cases says DHL in the 2024 edition of its Global Connectedness Report, due to be published on 15 March.
It claimed that in 2023 globalisation remained at close to the record of 2022, despite a wars, crises and other geopolitical shocks.
But it noted a falling off in trade and ties between the US and down by about a quarter since 2016 and a trend that gathered pace in 2023. However, trade flows between the two countries are still among the largest in the world.
The other major exception was trade between Russia and Europe, following the imposition of sanctions as result of the invasion of Ukraine.
The report, which seeks to measure trade connectedness in more than 180 countries and regions, named Singapore, the Netherlands and Ireland as the most globalized countries. The UK’s flows are the most broadly distributed around the world, it added.
There is little, if any sign of globalization giving way to near shoring and trade is in fact taking place over greater distances,. Only North America shows a definite trend towards near-shoring, said DHL.
Companies earnings from sales abroad is increasing and there is no sign of any reduction in cross-border mergers and acquisitions.
However, the report adds that globalisation must be put into context; it is growing rapidly, but from a low level and domestic still far exceeds international trade.
Kale joins Latam airport group
Kale Info Solutions has joined the Airport Council International – Latin America and Caribbean (ACI-LAC), which fosters innovation and digital transformation in the region’s air cargo industry. Kale Info Solutions USA, a fully owned subsidiary of Kale Logistics Solutions, provides a suite of software as a service–based solutions for the logistics community at airports and ports and has delivered digitisation for over 100 gateways around the world. Its Cloud-based Enterprise Systems and Cargo Community Platforms facilitate multimodal cross-border trade, providing a single electronic window supporting operational flows.
President of Kale Info Solutions, Amar More, said: “Our goal is to establish a dynamic forum where organisations recognise the potential of digitisation, share a collective vision, and elevate air cargo operations into a realm of increased agility, sustainability, security, and technological advancement.”
Hong Kong handlers go green with IEnvA
Cathay Cargo Terminal and Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) have become the first airfreight handling-companies to achieve IATA Environmental Assessment (IEnvA) certification.
IEnvA is a comprehensive certification programme developed by the International Air Transport Association that independently assesses the commitment of aviation stakeholders to continuously improve their environmental and sustainability performance. By adhering to globally recognised standards and best practice, IEnvA ensures that organisations minimise negative impacts on the environment while maintaining operational excellence.
Cathay Cargo terminal chief operating officer Mark Watts said: “The programme brings real rigour to environment management systems and reflects the significant investments our companies are making.”
Hactl chief executive Wilson Kwong added: “By attaining this certification, our two companies have set a high standard for the entire industry to strive towards. This achievement solidifies our position as leaders in promoting environmental responsibility, and underscores the importance of sustainable practices in the aviation sector.”
WFS, Swissport, Champ and Cathay take ONE Record to the next level
Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) and Champ Cargosystems are to go live with a joint use case of IATA’s ONE Record digital data-sharing standard.
IATA’s wants airlines and other stakeholders to implement ONE Record capability by 1 January 2026 as part of its phased digitalisation programme for air cargo. ONE Record builds on IATA’s earlier e-freight programme and more recent e-AWB initiative, which is now used for most air cargo shipments.
Under the use case launch, Cathay Cargo will send shipment booking data, initially for shipments between Paris CDG and Hong Kong, to WFS in real-time via Champ’s 1Neo-Connect server using IATA’s ONE Record API data standards. This will replace the consolidated Flight Booking List (FBL) message, currently sent in a traditional Cargo-IMP format over the SITA and ARINC networks.
ONE Record creates a single record view of a shipment and defines a common data model for the data shared through standardized and secured web API. The standard is based on mature but progressive data sharing technologies aligned with the best practices of leading airlines. This makes it directly accessible to IT teams and service providers.
As the use case progresses, and new trade lanes are added, it will be expanded to include a wide variety of data types, according to the IATA ONE Record data model. The aim is to receive more comprehensive data sooner to allow better decision-making.
Future ONE Record use cases will include shipment records, accompanying documents, special cargo, checklists, and other planning data to increase visibility and help cargo handlers manage workload. Ultimately, it will help to drive new value-added services and business models.
WFS currently provides cargo services for Cathay Cargo in Belgium, France, Spain and the UK as well as in four major airport stations in North America – Boston, Houston, Los Angeles and Miami – and in Bengaluru, India, handling over 95,000 tonnes a year.
WFS chief information officer for Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia, Pedro Garcia, said:
“ONE Record is a step-change in the way the air cargo industry exchanges information and will take digitalisation to the next level to improve data visibility, transparency, quality, and control. As leading players in the industry, WFS, Cathay Cargo and CHAMP are launching this use case to not only test its efficiency but to also signal our intent to move forward with ONE Record and make IATA’s implementation target date a reality.
“This is not about sending the same information via a different channel; it provides an opportunity to exchange much richer data with greater frequency and will lead to improved efficiency across air cargo.”
Champ chief executive, Chris McDermott, added: “CHAMP sees ONE Record as the standard that will drive the full digitalisation of air cargo and enable new services, so it’s very exciting to see this implementation come to fruition.”
The following day, Champ Cargosystems announced that it was to join handling company Swissport with Cathay Cargo in second ONE Record scheme. It said its 1Neo-Connect will offer ONE Record capabilities and standardised data exchange, improved visibility, real-time booking updates and better planning of cargo shipments.
Second AviaAM 777 goes for freighter conversion
Avia Solutions Group’s AviaAM Leasing arm has delivered a second Boeing B777-300ER to Aspire MRO at Alliance Airport in Fort Worth, Texas 300ER for passenger-to-freighter conversion. The aircraft will be able to carry almost 100 tons of cargo on transatlantic routes and is expected to serve EU-US or China-EU routes. It is one of a six-arcraft conversion in order.