Turkish Airlines says it has become the leading European air cargo carrier and the fourth globally, according to the latest IATA World Air Transport Statistics data. It increased its freight tonne kilometres by over 32% in 2021 to 9.2 million The airline now operates 20 all-cargo planes and the number destinations served by freighters nearly doubled to 100 in 2022. Meanwhile, Turkish Airlines became the airline that operates flights to the highest number of iThe cargo facility at the new Istanbul airport, SMARTIST, went into operation at the end of 2021.
Appointment and promotion at SEKO in the US
SEKO Logistics has appointed Christopher Gregg as senior vice president global airfreight. He was previously vice president airfreight, North America, at Hellmann Worldwide Logistics and has held roles with CH Robinson, Kuehne + Nagel, and Expeditors International. He will be based in Atlanta, in recognition of the city’s role as a global airfreight hub.
Shawn Richard, appointed as SEKO’s first vice-president of Global Airfreight in 2018, has been promoted to senior vice president international service centers (ISCs) and will remain based in New York.
SEKO has been transitioning from its Airfreight Gateway structure to operational International Service Centers. Its USA ISCs are currently operating in JFK and LAX and will be expanding into several other key markets over the next 6-12 months. SEKO ISCs are Certified Cargo Screening Facilities (CCSF), as well as an acting import CFS for inbound parcels from Europe and Asia.
Etihad adds space to New York
Etihad Cargo will introduce an additional 50 tonnes of belly capacity on four new weekly passenger flights to New York JFK from 15 November. The carrier will offer a total of 11 weekly flights between Abu Dhabi and New York.
Etihad Cargo also operates freighter and passenger flights to Chicago and Washington DC and the additional brings total cargo capacity into and out of the US to 1,084 tonnes per week.
Existing daily services will continue on Etihad’s new Airbus 350 aircraft, which has been deployed on the New York route since June 2022. The new flights will be operated with a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.
Etihad Cargo also operates two dedicated Boeing 777 freighter flights per week to Chicago via Europe.
A small contribution to rebuilding Ukraine’s aviation
Ukrainian technology company Awery Aviation Software has pledged its support for an initiative to protect and develop the country’s aviation industry, including the rebuilding of the unique Antonov Mriya AN-225, destroyed when Russian forces tried to occupy the Hostomel base early in the year.
Another Ukrainian startup company Metal Time has developed a working mechanical model kit of the Mriya and profits from the sale will be donated to Antonov. They will be used to rebuilding the Mriya aircraft; to rehouse Antonov employees whose homes were destroyed by Russia; and the education and training of new aviation engineers and pilots for Ukraine.
Awery chief executive Vitaly Smillianets said: “Awery cannot stand by when Ukrainian cargo aviation is destroyed economically and physically, and so it was an easy decision for us to help promote the initiative.
“Please help us support this initiative by purchasing your model as soon as you can.”
Details of the fundraising initiative and how you can buy your model can be found at:
Ukrainian Dream » Back this project — Kickstarter
Cathay airfreight goes green
Cathay Pacific has extended its Fly Greener carbon-offset programme to its air cargo services.
A calculator works out the carbon emissions of shipments and the cost to offset them and customers can then make a contribution to purchase carbon offsets that come from selected certified carbon-offset projects.
The carbon-offset programme follows the launch earlier this year of Cathay Pacific’s Corporate Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Programme, which brings SAF into Hong Kong International Airport for the first time in history.
The scheme currently supports four projects which bring fuel-efficient cooking stoves to families in Bangladesh, solar-powered hot water to households in India, and solar-powered cooking stoves and small biogas plants to families in the Chinese mainland.
Another acquisition for handler AGI
US handler Alliance Ground International (AGI) has acquired Airport Terminal Services (ATS).
ATS has over 5,500 employees and offers ground handling services, including cargo, passenger and ramp, aircraft re-fuelling and de-icing. Founded in 1975 and based in St Louis, Missouri, ATS operates across the US and Canada.
AGI’s earlier acquisitions include Maestro and TAS.
WFS adds more Heathrow space
Worldwide Flight Services (WFS) has enlarged its facility at London’s Heathrow Airport after a 30% growth in volumes in the past year.
It has signed a five-year lease on Building 578 in the airport’s cargo area, boosting its warehouse and office space by 27,000 sq. ft. The additional building, due to commence operations in October, features eight landside doors for cargo deliveries and collections, and a 20-foot truck dock. As well as caster deck storage for loaded pallets and containers, WFS also plans to install a 7,000sq ft area for ambient shipments and dedicated storage for temperature-controlled cargoes requiring a 2-8°C environment.
Once the new facility opens, WFS will increase its total cargo handling space at the airport to nearly 350,000 sq. ft.
New contracts gained in the past 12 months include Sri Lankan Airlines, Gulf Air and All Nippon Airways.
DB Schenker launches Frankfurt-US-Brazil freighter
DB Schenker has launched its first ever charter flights between Europe and South America. They will also be the forwarder’s first ever transatlantic charters.
The weekly flight leaves Amsterdam Schiphol on Sundays and stops in New York JFK and Miami on Monday before reaching Viracopos near São Paulo on the same day.
There are connections to Buenos Aires and Santiago de Chile, reached on Wednesdays and the stopover in Miami allows access to numerous further destinations.
In Europe, flights connect to DB Schenker’s land transportation network.
Temperature-controlled cargo and dangerous goods can be carried on request.
An airline partner will be operating the route with Boeing 767 freighters.
Alaska Air takes care of the bear
An orphaned brown bear cub found wandering alone on a military base outside Anchorage is settling into her new home at Seattle’s Woodland Park Zoo thanks to Alaska Air Cargo.
The 89-pound cub flew to Seattle from Anchorage in mid-July and is now busy getting to know her new digs. Zoo staff are using strategies like tucking food into rotted logs to teach the cub crucial bear skills like foraging. “
Every year tens of thousands of live animals travel via Alaska Air Cargo’s Pet Connect service, but these are mostly pet dogs and cats. But when the rare bear is booked for travel, the cargo teams and the zoos and wildlife agencies involved work together closely to choreograph the journey to ensure the cub’s safety and comfort each step of the way.
Jeff Munro, cargo operations manager for Anchorage (ANC says: “Whether it’s a bear or a moose or a seal or a puppy, we follow our Pet Connect processes and focus on really taking great care of them.”
For this cub’s journey, the cargo team coordinated a travel plan with the zoos in both Anchorage and Seattle. Before the flight, the zoos confirmed the size and weight of the cub’s crate so the cargo team could ensure the kennel would fit in the belly of the aircraft, and the Cargo Network Support team reserved space for the bear, blocking other animal bookings from the same flight.
“It’s prudent to keep other animals off that flight, both for the bear and other animals like dogs who might be upset by smelling a wild bear next to them,” Munro says.
When the cub arrived for her flight, Munro’s team made sure her crate was secluded away from the cargo station bustle as much as possible. The Cargo Network Support team monitored the timely departure and arrival of the flight, and if the flight had been delayed, they were poised to work quickly with the two zoos to coordinate a new flight plan.
The cub received the highest-priority loading – last on in Anchorage and first off in Seattle – and when she arrived, the Woodland Park Zoo team was ready and waiting to scoop up their newest resident.
Analyst expects sharp drop in airfreight rates
Seasonally adjusted general air cargo market performance data for July 2022 shows a continued slowing down of volume, load factor, capacity, and rates as economic and political uncertainties hang over the industry, says CLIVE Data Services.
In its latest market intelligence CLIVE Data Services, part of Xeneta, shows volumes dropped -9% in the first month of the third quarter compared to July 2021. Demand was also down -9% versus the same month of 2019. Capacity growth slowed to just +4% over the July 2021 level and was -11% to July 2019. This caused CLIVE’S ‘dynamic load factor’ measure to drop -8% pts year-over-year to 58%, taking into consideration both the weight and volume perspectives of cargo flown and capacity available to produce the most accurate indicator of airline performance.
Airfreight rates also continued to fall in July, relative to the June 2022 year-over-year analyses, CLIVE reports, although they remain at +121% versus July 2019 and +11% compared to the same month a year ago.
The slowdown in the global air cargo market since March 2022 is ongoing, said Xeneta chief airfreight officer, Niall van de Wouw, founder of CLIVE and now Chief Airfreight Officer at Xeneta, said there was no let-up in the multitude of disruptions outside of the industry’s control, from the continuing war in Ukraine to the escalating ‘cost of living’ crisis.
Airlines and airports also continue to suffer severe operational challenges due to significant shortages of ground staff.
“There are many dark clouds hanging over the air cargo industry given the state of the world right now. Volumes are subdued, and while air cargo rates are still elevated, they are slowly but surely easing back towards pre-Covid levels. From a rates point of view, indicators suggest the market has yet to bottom out. It’s clear that airlines are following the market very closely to ensure they are deploying their assets in the best possible way because the market is moving quickly. We have already seen freighters moving away from transatlantic routes.
“On the Atlantic, the decline in general airfreight rates we reported for the previous three months of 2022 continued in July. While this will be partly seasonal, the slight increase in load factor across the Atlantic relative to June – from 58% to 61% – might be a result of carriers and forwarders redirecting their freighter operations to other lanes, hence pushing up the load factor for the remaining flights on these routes,” he said.