This spring Alaska Air Cargo launched a program to carry up to 50,000 pounds of recyclable waste each year out of Nome, Alaska, supporting clean-up efforts in rural communities along the Bering Sea and saving valuable local water resources.
The recyclables — electronic waste items left over from used consumer goods — are collected from 16 communities around the Seward Peninsula Bering Strait region and packed onto pallets by employees of Kawerak, a Native nonprofit corporation in Nome that is partnering with Alaska Air Cargo in the project. Kawerak also supports the region through programs ranging from education to natural resource management to economic development.
The pallets of recyclables will fly from Nome to Anchorage regularly during the spring-fall seasons, replacing pallets of water that have been used as ballast to level out the aircraft. Air cargo services around the world use ballast after their aircraft drop off cargo and fly back empty, and our aircraft carry much more cargo into Nome than they carry out.
“Empty planes fly much better with ballast, but instead of moving water and throwing it away, we’re going to use clean electronic scrap as ballast and really do something good for the community,” said Jeff Olver, Alaska Air Cargo director of cargo operations for Seattle and the state of Alaska.
Because the recyclables will replace water jugs that had been filled in Nome to create the ballast weight, this program will also save more than 6,000 gallons of local water each year — the equivalent of 20 days of water used by an average American family household.
New cargo program to carry thousands of pounds of recyclables out of Nome
Emirates Group ramps up recruitment globally
The Emirates Group is laying the groundwork for its next big growth phase with a mammoth drive to recruit the best minds and talent globally across 180 unique roles. The Group is looking to cherry-pick cabin crew, pilots, engineers, IT professionals and customer service agents at both Emirates and dnata.
Despite tough labour market conditions globally, the Emirates Group ended its financial year on 31 March with more than 102,000 employees, after having welcomed 17,160 people in various roles throughout the year.
Oliver Grohmann, Senior Vice President Human Resources at the Emirates Group said: “The Emirates Group has built an extraordinary reputation as an employer of choice and as a trailblazing force in aviation. People aspire to be part of the Group’s growth story and its ambitions as well as work and live in Dubai, one of the world’s safest, most cosmopolitan and dynamic cities. In the last financial year, we received around 2.7 million applications globally for roles across the organisation. We are using the latest technologies, such as digital assessments, artificial intelligence and other top-notch recruitment systems to shortlist, select and respond to candidates in the most efficient and effective ways. Our focus is on recruiting the best talent, the brightest minds, and those most fit for the various roles that will support and drive our future growth and expansion.”
The fresh callout for cabin crew and pilots comes at one of the most exciting times in Emirates’ history – a year of record financial results and profit share, projected growth, network expansion, delivery of the new fleet of Airbus A350s and Boeing 777-Xs starting in 2024, a buoyant travel market and an optimistic outlook overall.
Rwandair signs cargo handling contract with WFS for first-ever direct flights to Paris
RwandAir, the flag carrier airline of Rwanda, has appointed Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) as the cargo handling partner for its new direct flights to Paris Charles de Gaulle.
The airline is now connecting Paris and Rwanda’s capital Kigali with three non-stop Airbus A330 flights a week, its first-ever direct service to France. The new route is RwandAir’s 25th destination.
WFS will provide full cargo handling services for RwandAir, supporting the airline’s freight forwarding customers and its GSA partner in France, Network Airline Services (NAS). Flights depart from Paris CDG every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, providing the only direct air service between the two countries.
Speaking at the launch of the new route, Yvonne Makolo, RwandAir’s CEO, said: “We are excited and proud to celebrate the start of RwandAir’s new three-times-a-week service to Paris from Kigali. We know this fantastic new route to the French capital will prove very popular with our customers. We look forward to growing our presence in the French market as we continue to expand our international route network and connect Africa with Europe and more overseas destinations.”
Laurent Bernard, VP Cargo France at WFS, commented: “RwandAir is another prestigious airline client for WFS in France and we are proud to have been chosen to support its ambitious growth strategy, connecting Paris with the heart of Africa. RwandAir is recognised for its on-time performance, customer service, and safety and these reflect WFS’ own core values. We look forward to a long and successful partnership.”
Cathay gains Li-batt certificate
Cathay Cargo and the Cathay Cargo Terminal have received IATA Center of Excellence for Independent Validators Lithium Batteries (CEIV Li-batt) certification. It means that both now hold the full set of CEIV certifications, joining CEIV Pharma, CEIV Fresh and CEIV Live Animals.
The CEIV Li-batt accreditation joins Cathay Cargo’s existing mitigations for lithium-ion battery shipments, which include a full range of fire containment bags and fire-resistant containers.
Cathay Cargo also operates its Cargo Agent Operation Programme and an additional indemnity scheme for mislabelled dangerous goods.
Airfreight shippers have the upper hand, says analyst
Shippers will hold the upper hand in the winter round of airfreight rates negotiations, says analyst CLIVE Data Services.
Clive, part of Xeneta, said that after another month of falling demand in July saw volumes drop -2% month-over-month, and the general global air freight spot rate decline at a hastening pace of 40% or more for a fourth consecutive month.
Last month saw global air cargo capacity recover by +7% compared to a year ago, as airlines’ summer schedules stepped up to meet heightened passenger traffic. In line with this, the July global average dynamic load factor, which measures cargo load factor based on both volume and weight perspectives of cargo flown and capacity available, was at 55%, on a par with June 2023 but -3% pts below a year ago.
More capacity at a time of falling volumes placed added pressure on airfreight rates. The -41% drop in July versus the same month in 2022, pushed the average air cargo spot rate down to USD 2.20 per kg. This compares to a rate of USD 2.31 per kg recorded in June.
“The month of July rarely provides any surprises in terms of unexpected performance levels in the global air cargo market, but what will be concerning airlines and forwarders is the constant month-on-month decline in average rates, and the quickening pace of this fall since the turn of the year,” says Niall van de Wouw, chief airfreight officer at Xeneta.
“Going into the usually critical winter rates negotiation period, it’s clear shippers will have the upper hand. We are already seeing more shippers relaunching contract negotiations with their logistics service providers to push down airfreight rates. Shippers are also looking to agree longer, 12-month commitments to reduce their costs. Airlines will know they can expect the same pricing turbulence from forwarders.
“The airfreight rates merry-go-round will be intense this winter, as we have indicated in previous months’ analyses. Many freight forwarders, who at the peak of the pandemic chose multi-year contracts to secure airline capacity, are now reportedly bleeding cash, so they are under significant pressure to renegotiate rates which reflect the reality of today’s freight market and the expectation that the current market environment could continue for the foreseeable future into 2024.”
He added that they key question wass: ‘how low will it go?’
Looking at weekly developments in July, the global air cargo spot rate bottomed out in the second week of the month, while in the final week, ending on 30 July, it ticked up 3%, possibly reflecting an easing decline in cargo volumes and slower paced growth in capacity versus previous months.
In addition, the recent rise in jet fuel prices might also have contributed to the increase, having already been seen in some shippers’ monthly rate revisions. But the uptick in jet fuel surcharge will likely not stick and provide any meaningful impact on freight rates, as demand and supply dynamics for the general air freight market remain unchanged. With shippers enjoying leveraging their enhanced buying power after the pricing pain of the pandemic, Xeneta expects a push back on the fuel surcharge adjustments, too.
Northeast Asia (including China) trade lanes registered the biggest rate declines compared to last year. Both China to the US and US to China airfreight spot rates fell by over 60% from a year ago. China to Europe and Europe to China took the third and fourth places, with spot rates down over 55% year-on-year.
South America to the US and Europe to the Middle East and Central Asia registered the smallest rate declines of 19% and 27% respectively, compared to a year ago.
The volatile market conditions are being reflected in the Q2 performance levels being reported by airlines and global forwarders, with the ‘top 3’ airfreight forwarders – Kuehne+Nagel, DHL Global Forwarding, and DSV – all registering contraction of around 50% in their Q2 2023 air revenues compared to the same period a year ago.
While forwarders are clearly suffering from the significant drop in general airfreight volumes, those targeting higher yielding clients and commodities are still gaining higher margins, despite also seeing a drop in volumes. This is generating some recourse to the high competition in the general cargo market, where high competition means the spot rate (valid for up to one month) has fallen below the seasonal rate (valid for over one month) since May last year. In comparison, cargo requiring special handling continues to produce higher yield, with the spot rate above the seasonal rate since the onset of the pandemic.
Those forwarders focused on grabbing volumes almost at any cost to increase their market share will continue to sacrifice their margins to do so, and likely continue to fuel an irrational air cargo market in which global spot freight rates fall deeper the level market fundamentals and conditions would typically expect.
For the remainder of this summer, Xeneta anticipates airfreight volumes will remain muted. This is indicated in the latest manufacturing Purchasing Manager Index (PMI) from China, which ticked up to 49.3 in July from 49.0 in June, indicating a continuing decline in the country’s manufacturing, and extending this fall in production to a fourth consecutive month. Its subindex for new export orders, a bellwether for air cargo demand, dropped to 46.3 in July from 46.4 in June.
Two new recruits for Sterling squad
Airfreight trucker Sterling Transportation has appointed Steve Tucker as chief technology officer and Ken Meek as vice president of network operations. Steve Tucker (main picture) has worked for organizations including Texas Instruments, American Airlines/Sabre, and Forward Air. US Navy veteran Ken Meek (pictured below) started his transportation career with American Freightways and was most recently director of operations with American Linehaul.
Etihad hits the spot, adds Boston
Etihad Cargo says it has continued to surpass operational performance targets, achieving improvements across key performance measures in the first half of 2023.
It achieved 82.7% on-time performance for freighter departures and 82% OTP for freighter arrivals, above its 80% target. It also improved the carrier’s delivered-as-promised (DAP) rate, achieving 90.6%, ahead of its 85% target and an increase on its 2022 DAP rate of 86.6%.
The carrier also announced that it will introduce flights to Boston from summer 2024. Hey will operate four days a week using Boeing 787-9 aircraft. Etihad already serves Chicago O’Hare, New York JFK, Washington Dulles and Toronto.
Envirotainer to merge with va-Q-tec
Pharmaceutical logistics specialist Envirotainer and thermal insulation company va-Q-tec have gained approval from the Austrian and German competition authorities for a merger.
Envirotainer said va-Q-tec’s offering of advanced passive boxes and containers that maintain temperatures from -180°C to +20°C without external energy input would be a perfect match for its own solutions, which include active Unit Load Device (ULD) Containers, (using battery powered compressor cooling and electric heating technology) and the CryoSure -70°C dry ice shipping solution.
Preparations for the integration have already started, and the full combination is expected to be in place during the second half of 2024.
Va-Q-tec’s non-pharma operations, providing cold chain for food, and vacuum insulation, will continue to operate separately.
Pledge cracks Canada carbon conundrum for Synergie
Climate-tech company Pledge is rolling out its carbon emissions measurement, reporting, and offsetting solutions to Canadian freight forwarder, Synergie Canada.
Synergie Canada will use the platform to provide customers with simple, transparent, and traceable carbon emissions measurement and reporting., giving them actionable data on their footprint.
Trade Lane Director at Synergie Canada, Marie-Christine Gaudreault (main picture), said: “As a Canadian company, finding a good platform for carbon footprint management has been a real challenge. We looked at many platforms, and Pledge was the only one that met all our needs.”
Pledge chief executive, David de Picciotto (pictured below), added: “Synergie’s commitment to providing environmental stewardship and responsibility shows it’s not afraid to take the necessary steps to create change in the industry.”
Danx to pioneer electric cargo planes
Danish-based critical logistics company Danx Carousel Group has signed a strategic partnership with Electron Aerospace to develop an electric, pilotless cargo aircraft.
The Electron 5 has been designed to transport 0.5 tonnes (1,100lbs) of cargo 500km (310 miles) on a single battery charge and at a speed of up to 300km per hour (186mph). With its requirement for relatively short runways, it will also have access to five times more European airports compared to larger freight aircraft, bypassing congested main hubs
The plane is due to go into operation in 2027 and Carousel aims to add them to its fleet within the next five years.
Danx Carousel’s group chief solutions officer, Lars Ryssel, said: “Sustainability is, of course, the driving force behind our investment in Electron, but the inclusion of the Electron 5 aircraft in our operations will also bring about impressive operational improvements.
“The ability to launch and land closer to our pick-up and delivery points will cut down on journey lengths, allowing us to offer customers later cut-off times and better serve hard-to-reach areas. Moving away from the traditional hub-and-spoke distribution of air cargo to a point-to-point model means we can avoid congestion at busy airports.
“Based on our analysis, we believe that small planes are set to outperform conventional aircraft fuelled by sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), and hybrid aircraft in cost per kilogram, transit time, and carbon emissions.”
Electron Aerospace co-founder Marc-Henry de Jong, added: “The Electron 5 is well equipped to transport a wide range of cargo, including loose goods like e-commerce parcels and odd-size goods on EU pallets.
Danx Carousel specialists were involved in the freighter design of the Electron 5 model, advising on how to best adapt the aircraft to transport freight.
