Broker Air Partner has signed a deal with Air Logistics Group’s Worldwide GSA, to expand its cargo services in Asia-Pacific. Worldwide GSA will act as Air Partner’s representative in the region while Air Partner will be the charter desk for Worldwide GSA group.
Air Partner says it will allow it to extend its cargo footprint in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand, Australia and Thailand.
Airfreight quality standards organization Cargo iQ has signed a deal with the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA) and the Airport Services Association (ASA) for the latter two’s director generals to attend its board meetings as observers and to work together to improve practices across the supply chain.
FIATA represents 40,000 forwarders and logistics firms around the world, while the ASA has 50 global members in the aviation services industry.
FIATA director general, Stéphane Graber (pictured below), said: “FIATA is thrilled to be participating in the board meetings of Cargo iQ, and to join with the group and ASA to drive global standards. This collaboration is a key initiative in the optimization of air cargo processes for all logistics supply chain stakeholders involving air freight.”
ASA director general, Fabio Gamba (main picture), added: “This initiative from Cargo iQ to offer FIATA and ASA an observer seat at their board is spot on. The cargo value chain is a very complex one, and only a truly holistic approach, involving all the major stakeholders, will work.”
Cold chain solution specialist Envirotainer has celebrated a decade of operations in Mexico. Over the past 10 years, it has worked closely with its partner, ULD Services MEX, to develop temperature-controlled air freight in the country and spearheaded the safe transportation of pharmaceuticals.
Prior to Envirotainer’s presence in the market, Mexico’s pharmaceutical cold chain had been reliant on passive systems – cardboard boxes, insulation and coolants, which can be wasteful and risk temperature deviation.
Envirotainer’s active unit load devices, battery-powered and insulated units can contain pallets of pharmaceuticals in flight. The number of shipments to and from Mexico has increased, reflecting the country’s flourishing pharmaceutical industry.
Envirotainer is now looking ahead to the next 10 years, with a focus on training customers and partners on the latest offerings in the Mexican market, including the Releye ULD family and CryoSure solutions.
Baku, Azerbaijan-based Silk Way West Airlines has gained CEIV Lithium Battery certification from the International Air Transport Association (IATA). It recognizes that the carrier has implemented robust processes and best practices to mitigate relevant risks and comply with stringent requirements.
The CEIV Lithium Batteries Certification is a global standard developed by IATA to ensure the safe and secure handling of lithium batteries throughout the supply chain.
Air Charter Service has appointed Alfie Arrowsmith as regional vice president of cargo for North America.
He joined ACS’s South African operation in 2010, before moving to another established charter broker in the country moving, in 2015 to Miami. He has now joined Air Charter Service for the second time and will be working out of the New York office.
Richard Thompson, President of ACS Americas, commented: “It’s great to have Alfie back here at ACS. He has vast experience across several continents having worked and lived in Europe, Africa and North America. During his time in these locations, he has gained an unparalleled knowledge of worldwide cargo operations and he will bring vital expertise to our North American team across our nine offices in the region.”
Airfreight trucker Sterling Transportation has promoted Richard Garcia to chief operating officer.
With over three decades of experience in the industry, his journey at Sterling Transportation began in 2000 as a station manager at the Miami terminal. He then served as regional vice president before ultimately being appointed as the president of Sterling Transportation, where he made significant contributions to the growth and success of the company.
In his new role he will be critical in driving the direction and growth of the company as a whole.
Chief executive Keith Davis said: “Richard is an incredibly knowledgeable, loyal, and hard-working professional. We are thrilled to have him step into this critical role as we continue to expand our operations and strengthen our position in the market. I am confident that Richard’s expertise and experience will be instrumental in leading Sterling Transportation to new heights.”
Swissport has upgraded its cargo center at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (NBO) with a new 750sqm interconnected cold storeroom with direct access from the perishables hub to the airside. The new storeroom can hold up to 110 aircraft pallets, equivalent to just over three B747 freighter loadss. It is equipped with a flatbed with a ball-mat roller for easy maneuvering of shipments in the warehouse. Four of the six cold storerooms are dedicated to perishable cargo (+2 to +8°C), while the remaining two are assigned to pharmaceuticals (CRT +15 to +20°C and COL +2 to +8°C).
The air cargo industry should expect a strong peak season in the fourth quarter despite lower Q1 volumes, said executive director of the US-based Airforwarders Association (AfA), Brandon Fried.
According to World ACD, global air cargo chargeable weight flown in Q1 2023 was down 11% compared with a year earlier, but Fried attributes recent lower volumes to post-Covid normalization rather than decline.
“We’re coming down from the lofty volumes seen during the pandemic, which we all know were not sustainable long term, but we’re not crashing, we’re normalizing,” said Fried. “We need to be bullish in the second half; consumers are still out there spending and passengers are flying.”
Overall tonnage in Q1 dropped by 16% for Asia Pacific and 18% for North America.
He added that current freight rates are artificially lower than supply and demand would dictate because airlines are operating more aircraft than necessary in anticipation of an uptick, he said, and to accommodate swathes of passengers waiting to fly.
“This will benefit freight forwarders in the long run because airlines want to tailor pricing to attract business,” said Fried.
“It also indicates a departure away from the traditional freighters we saw during the pandemic, and we can expect some of the older freighters to be phased out.
“Now’s the time for freight forwarders to really show their creative strength because they have to anticipate what’s coming around the corner.”
Fried urged the same fighting spirit to contend with ongoing labor shortages and union negotiations, which have been casting a shadow over US supply chains and global trade flows.
Fried expects air and ocean freight demand to improve in 2024. “We have a new baseline, and we need to stop comparing to before the pandemic.
“It’s a new world, we’re seeing a new geopolitical order: the war in Ukraine, rising labor costs, Chinese manufacturers moving out of China to elsewhere in Asia, South America, Mexico.
“Manufacturers are diversifying, and we can expect to see regionalizing of supply chains in the US and globally.
“A different political structure will have a significant impact on supply chains.”
Air Canada Cargo operated the first of its twice-weekly 767 freighter flights into San José, Costa Rica, on 19 May. They are the latest addition to the carrier’s worldwide freighter network, following recently launched freighter services to Basel, Liege, Dallas, Atlanta and Bogota.
Vice president, cargo, Jon Turner, said: “The start of our freighter operations into Costa Rica builds upon Air Canada’s passenger service to the country and bolsters the cargo presence to offer consistent year-round capacity for our key customers in the region.”
The carrier has also operated its first weekly B767F freighter flight into Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
Ukrainian carrier Antonov Airlines has delivered Intelsat commercial satellite to Cape Canaveral on one of its AN-124-100M aircraft. It flew the components from Moffet Federal Airfield in California, to NASA’s Shuttle Landing Facility in Titusville, Florida, USA, for a launch by the US aerospace company SpaceX.
The 55,000kg cargo consisted of eight pieces, including the satellite and its payload, the AN-124-100 being the only aircraft available able to handle the pieces – which it can do without special ground support equipment to load and unload the cargo.
Despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Antonov’s fleet of five AN-124-100 aircraft continue to fly worldwide from a temporary base in Leipzig, Germany.
