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.”
To the rescue in Guam
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
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
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
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
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
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.
Bertling heads Down Under with Australia joint venture
German-owned project forwarder Bertling Logistics has set up a joint venture with Clemenger International Freight in Australia. Clemenger Bertling Projects has a head office in Perth and a presence in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, along with a network of partners and suppliers throughout Australia.
The new joint venture will explore new business opportunities in Australia in energy, mining and construction.
It will be headed by Chris Nicholson (pictured) as general manager, who has worked at Clemenger since 2015 and brings over 35 years of experience in global freight forwarding and project logistics.
Bertling and Clemenger have been agency partners since 2015.
Bertling’s focus is on global project logistics and transport engineering solutions, while Clemenger primarily specialises in general freight forwarding and in-house customs clearance services in Australia.
It can also offer local logistics expertise, a partner network and access to modern vehicles and equipment. Bertling will bring in its global office and supplier network, a modern IT infrastructure, and a varied project expertise in Australia and neighbouring ASPAC countries, such as Singapore, China, Malaysia and Indonesia.
With in-house customs consultancy and clearance services, the JV will offer door-to-door service, advice, and documentation services.
Clemenger managing director, Michael Clemenger, said: “We are proud to have in Bertling a loyal and partner to add value and broaden our local service offering in Australia and to diversify our portfolio. We know their dedication, go-anywhere-approach and high-quality transport engineering know-how very well from our long-term collaboration and look forward to consolidating our both companies’ competences.”
Bertling Logistics chief executive, Colin MacIsaac, added ““Clemenger’s skilled team, high-quality services and wide-spread local network are well-known within Australia. We are convinced that our new JV will obtain a leading position in the Australian logistics market and that we will be ideally positioned to adequately respond to and serve the logistics need arising from the ongoing energy transition.”
Seko Logistics releases first-ever ESG report
Online delivery specialist Seko Logistics has released its first ever Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, for 2022 to 2023.
Along with naming Kai Lincoln its first-ever global vice president of sustainability in 2022, the Schaumburg, Illinois-based company made a commitment to become carbon neutral by 2050 and has submitted an initial commitment to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) – a partnership between the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
As part of this, SEKO also moved its global headquarters to a LEED Gold, ENERGY START, BOMA 360 and WiredScore Gold-rated building in Schaumburg.
Through its partnership with global humanitarian organization Airlink, SEKO donated 140 shipments totaling 914 tons of aid, reaching 2.2 million individuals in Ukraine, Türkiye, Syria and other regions impacted by conflict, global health issues and natural disasters.
It also established a Women in Logistics Leadership employee resource group to empower women within the organization in their careers and in their daily lives.
Kai Lincoln said: “I am excited to share our company’s first-ever ESG report. Last year was significant in SEKO’s journey, as we established the company’s first-ever ESG mission and goals. This report continues that momentum and serves as a benchmark upon which we can continue building. Our overarching ESG mission is to conduct business as responsible stewards of the people, the planet and communities in which we operate.”
Chief executive, James Gagne (pictured) added: “Despite 2022 proving to be a difficult year for the global economy and presenting unique challenges for our industry, we made significant strides toward our ESG goals. In particular, I am deeply proud of the work our team has done to show support for the people of Ukraine, Turkiye and Syria, as well as the work that we have accomplished to establish our carbon calculation tools, our facility energy and vendor audits, and the completion of this inaugural report.”
Since February 2022, SEKO has donated and provided more than $300,000 in goods and services to support those impacted by the conflict in Ukraine. This includes hundreds of pallets of medical supplies, including emergency first aid kits and other trauma supplies, at no cost. In Türkiye and Syria, SEKO provided crucial trucking services to transport 58 pallets of clothing and other essential supplies that were delivered via a specially chartered Virgin Atlantic cargo-only flight.
SEKO has also joined industry-led initiatives such as the Sustainable Air Freight Alliance and sourced home compostable ecommerce packaging which breaks down in less than 180 days into completely non-toxic elements. In 2022, it also introduced sustainability training for its 3,000 employees.
Juan Vilarino to lead Dachser in Argentina
German-owned company Dachser has appointed Juan Vilarino as managing director air and sea logistics (ASL) Argentina.
He is in charge of a team of around 25 people based in the country’s regional office in the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires and reports directly to Ralph Riehl, managing director ASL Americas.
He has worked in the logistics industry for over 18 yearsand was recently sea & projects branch manager for DSV in Argentina.
Vilarino succeeds Eduardo Fernandes, who has been acting in a double role as branch manager South Brazil and managing director ASL Argentina since and will now dedicate his full attention to the latter region.
Dachser has been present in the Americas region since 1974 with around 700 employees at locations including the US, Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Peru.