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Danx to pioneer electric cargo planes

Chris Lewis

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July 26, 2023

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.

A Quantum leap for Amerijet efficiency

Chris Lewis

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July 25, 2023

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Miami-based freighter aircraft operator Amerijet International has completed a joint proof of concept project with logistics technology firm Quantum-South on technology to optimise aircraft loading and increase revenue per flight.

Amerijet operates a fleet of Boeing 757 and 767 freighter aircraft from Miami to 48 destinations across the Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America and Europe.

Quantum-South’s solution features an Aircraft Load Optimization module, designed to optimize container placement to maximize transported weight, volume, priority mix, or revenue mix, with a focus on center of gravity optimization. An Air Cargo Bin Packing modulealso selects shipments for each flight to optimize the booked priority, with container assignment and precise instructions on how to build the container, such as the location and order of placement for each piece in the shipment.

Quantum-South’s solution has been integrated with Amerijet’s cargo management system, powered by the SmartKargo backend application.

As part of the project, Quantum-South examined data from 451 flights and identified loading alternatives that increased payload by up to 30% and volume by up to 76%, for instance, replacing a previous load plan consisting of containers such as PAGs and PQAs with an optimized plan utilizing a variety of containers like AKEs, TYPE A-1, TYPE A FRONT, and TYPE A AFT units.

Amerijet International chief commercial officer Eric Wilson, stated: “This substantial enhancement in cargo load factor can greatly enhance revenue per flight and increase opportunities for customers through more efficient use of capacity.”

Quantum-South co-founder and president, Dr Rafael Sotelo, added: “The project’s success at Miami International Airport demonstrates the significant potential of our cutting-edge solution in optimizing cargo load factors.”

Quantum would continue working with Amerijet to uncover more optimization opportunities and further enhance operations, he said.

Amerijet International said it was committed to tackling challenges related to data structure and data quality while continuing to work on multi-piece shipment ordering and shipment handling code incompatibility restriction compliance. It also plans to explore automated planning of areas such as oversize cargo, consolidated cargo, bulk cargo space, and B757 configurations.

Wilson concluded: “Optimizing flight load plans and augmenting process efficiency helps us provide the best capacity offering to our customers while maximizing the load of every flight. Quantum-South’s solution has the potential to bring significant benefits to our operations, increase revenues and reduce emissions, and we look forward to further collaboration to uncover more optimization opportunities.”

New British carrier is One of a kind

Airlines

Chris Lewis

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July 25, 2023

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New British all-cargo airline, One Air, has completed its inaugural Boeing 747-400 freighter flight, a full charter from China to the UK.

The 100-tonne payload arrived at London Heathrow from Jinan-Shandong on the night of 24 July.

Chief Operating Officer Chris Hope said that, as well as ad hoc charter flights, the carrier was also starting a regular flying programme from Asia Pacific to Europe with two 747F flights per week.

He added: “Work is also under way to add a second 747F to our fleet, which we hope will enter service in early Q4.”

One Air anticipates regular demand for flights from the UK to Europe, the Middle East, and Asia regions, with services to China and the US to follow.

Chief executive Paul Bennett said: “It is a proud day for us to operate our first customer flight and marks the start of our strategic development plan to build One Air’s reputation with clients in prime air cargo markets around the world.”

One Air is the only UK operator of the Boeing 747 with its dry leased B747-400SF and has established a team of over 100 at its headquarters near London Heathrow.

To the rescue in Guam

Brokers

Chris Lewis

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July 25, 2023

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Broker Air Charter Service has arranged the transport of over 500 tonnes of relief goods to Guam in the wake of Typhoon Mawar, which hit the region in late May.
Director for Government & Humanitarian Services, Ben Dinsdale, said: “Following the significant damage suffered from the powerful storm we were asked to transport humanitarian cargo including generators, water tanks, tractors and trucks. Our New York and Houston cargo teams arranged eight charters on aircraft including an MD11, B747s and AN-124s, with most of the flights having to make a fuel stop in Hawaii, due to the large payloads and the 6,000 mile distance between the West Coast and Guam.
“In the weeks following the disaster, we arranged charters carrying a total of 500 tonnes to the region. One of our Miami team flew with the first Antonov AN-124 to ensure everything ran smoothly at both ends.”

Saudia extends its reach with Jan de Rijk

Chris Lewis

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July 25, 2023

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Saudia extends its reach with Jan de Rijk

Saudia Cargo has signed an agreement with airline trucking company Jan de to expand its reach in Europe. The airline will leverage Jan de Rijk’s extensive network to strengthen its presence in Europe. A signing ceremony took place on 19 July at Saudia Cargo’s headquarters in Jeddah.

Air France gains CEIV Li-batt status

Airlines

Chris Lewis

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July 21, 2023

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Air France KLM Martinair Cargo has achieved IATA CEIV Lithium Batteries (CEIV Li[1]batt) certification for Air France Cargo and its hubs at Paris Charles de Gaulle and Chicago O’Hare. The CEIV Li-batt certification programme aims to raise competency levels and quality management in handling and transport.

The status is designed to enable shippers, freight forwarders, cargo handling facilities and airlines to fulfil their safety obligations for the batteries which are the preferred power source for a wide array of consumer goods including mobile phones, children’s toys, cars and e-bikes.

Kuehne+Nagel and IAG sign SAF deal

Chris Lewis

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July 21, 2023

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Kuehne+Nagel has signed a partnership with IAG Cargo whereby it will part-fund the carrier’s purchase of six million litres of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) in 2023. The SAF, which will have International Sustainability and Carbon Certification is produced from used cooking oil and food waste, and will have at least 80% lower lifecycle emissions than conventional jet fuel.

IAG says it was the first European airline group to make a commitment that 10% of its fuel needs would be fulfilled by SAF by 2030, and the purchase supports its acceleration towards this goal.

IAG Cargo first partnered with Kuehne+Nagel in 2021 to power a series of 16 charter flights from Stuttgart to Atlanta.

Avianca joins Cargo iQ

Chris Lewis

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July 20, 2023

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Latin American carrier Avianca has joined the Cargo iQ quality standards organization. The airline will help its partners and suppliers adhere to international standards and practices to ensure efficiency and drive improved service quality control.

Lufthansa and Kuehne+Nagel pilot paperless cargo

Chris Lewis

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July 18, 2023

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Lufthansa and Kuehne+Nagel pilot paperless cargo

Lufthansa Cargo and forwarding partner Kuehne+Nagel are piloting totally paperless shipments for general cargo between Germany and Hong Kong, with not only electronic air waybills but all other accompanying documents and paperwork.

Further trade lanes will be targeted in the next phase of the scheme, the partners add, and the plan os to create an entirely paperless corridor between Europe and Asia for general cargo.

Lufthansa cargo vice president global fulfilment management, Dr Jan-Wilhelm Breithaupt said: “We see great opportunities in this initiative as it supports all participants in pushing their handling efficiencies as well as increasing data availability and transparency throughout their network. The transition to a paperless environment will significantly reduce processing times plus complexity and offers just in time shipment status information.

“However, it will only be a first step towards a fully digitalized air freight future; especially accompanying documentation of special cargo will come into our focus soon enough.”

At Kuehne+Nagel, vice president air logistics operations Germany, Kolja Mahler-Wingen said: “In addition to the positive effect of paperless handling, which primarily saves time and gains efficiency, a purely digitally supported process also offers further potential for automation in order to reach the best possible transparency and data quality for our customers around the globe. We as Kuehne+Nagel are highly committed to further expanding our digital ambitions on the way to a fully digitized air freight process.”

The two partners say they are encouraging other industry players to join them in their efforts to eliminate unnecessary paper documents. All that is required is the participation in the electronic Air Way Bill (eAWB) Single Process and selecting the eFreight Special Handling Code (EAW) for all general cargo when preparing the shipment and paperless delivery to the airline.

WebCargo offers cargo interlining without tears

Chris Lewis

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July 18, 2023

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WebCargo offers cargo interlining without tears

The Freightos WebCargo airfreight platform has developed a system that it says can book cargo onto two or more connecting carriers in seconds – a process that until now often takes 24-48 hours to complete using manual processes.

The first booking was a test shipment by Qatar Airways Cargo on an ITA Airways flight.

Freightos says that in a post-Covid world, interline activities have become increasingly relevant as carriers cut back their schedules and put more emphasis on partnership activity.

Almost a tenth of all passenger itineraries involve code-sharing but the process is underused in cargo. Digital interlining will allow airlines to improve capacity utilization, broaden global coverage and create new business opportunities, it says.

WebCargo chief executive Manel Galindo said: “Waiting two days to price and book cargo that can circle the globe in under a day simply does not work. This new functionality brought together two carriers with no recent record of interlining together, which demonstrates the power of the new product. We’re privileged to collaborate with so many leading airlines, tapping digitization to support global supply chains.”

Qatar Airways’ cargo customer experience vice president, Faisal Karamat, added: “This platform provides us access to additional routes that further enhance our global coverage and enable the teams to book it instantly.”

IAG Cargo also played a crucial role as a design partner, helping to identify and structure a platform-supported eBooking process.

Interline eBooking on WebCargo is available to all airlines, including those not yet offering e-bookings on WebCargo.