Lödige Industries has completed an automated cold chain pallet-cargo system at Hong Kong International Airport. Through its local office, the German company planned, manufactured and implemented the advanced system for AAT Coolport, the first on-airport cold chain facility in Hong Kong providing a complete temperature-controlled environment, operated by Asia Airfreight Terminal (AAT). Lödige Industries has worked on several projects in Asia, including Singapore and Chengdu and maintains a network of offices in the region.
The machines take over at FedEx Stansted
FedEx Express Europe has unveiled new package sorting technology at its London Stansted Airport facility. Automated scanning and sorting speeds up the flow of exports with some 80% of shipments bound for international markets being scanned and approved by machines.
The upgrade is part of an ongoing redevelopment of the facility and follows a previous expansion of the building in December 2020. Work is also underway on a new FedEx import sort system expected to be completed in 2023 as part of a $25m total investment.
Located just 40 miles from London, Stansted is the UK’s third largest cargo airport and currently handles over 258,000 tonnes of cargo annually. It is currently the only London airport with the capacity and infrastructure to support increased demand for cargo aviation over the next 10-15 years.
Airfreight customers reluctant to commit
Freight forwarders are taking a ‘wait and see’ approach before making long-term air cargo capacity commitments demand dropped 2% month-over-month in November , says the latest weekly market by Xeneta’s CLIVE Data Services.
Chargeable weight in November was down 8% versus the same month of 2021, although the 1% reduction in global air cargo capacity, as airlines adapted to winter schedules, contributed to a ‘dynamic load factor’ of 61%, on a par with the previous month.
Load factors, however, continued to sit well below last year’s extraordinary peak season. For instance, Europe to North America load factor in the week leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday sat at 74% this year, down 12% from the same week last year.
Amidst so much market uncertainty, shippers are increasingly choosing shorter-term deals as they wait to see how business trends unfold in the coming months. Commitments to over three-month contracts hardly exist in the fourth quarter this year.
Chief Airfreight Officer at Xeneta, Niall van de Wouw, said: “After such a big drop of -8% in air cargo demand in October, we saw a little stability return in November, so the market is not worsening, it’s just very hard to read longer-term. This is reflected in the rise in short-term contracts, with forwarders unwilling to commit to long-term deals.
“Shippers should see some benefit from this in terms of their air and ocean budgets, and falling rates may provide one glimmer of hope for cash-strapped consumers that potentially lower shipping costs in 2023 will make some goods more affordable. There are still so many influencing factors to consider, including the depreciation of the US dollar and its impact on trade.”
FedEx sets up shop in Nigeria
FedEx Express has established a direct commercial presence in Nigeria. Customers now have greater access to a wide`r portfolio of shipping solutions including new account opening, tracking shipment status, creating air waybills, scheduling courier pickups, and managing billing. FedEx’s local partner Red Star Express will continue to provide the infrastructure for ground operations. FedEx has operated in Nigeria through Red Star Express since 1994.
Forwarder opens Denver office
Freight forwarder Martin Bencher has opened an office in Denver, Colorado. It will act as a hub for the entire Western Midwest for companies in the area including turbine and wind energy plants. Martin Bencher has appointed Eric Thie as branch manager and Valerie Nielsen as export coordinator.
American adds Raleigh Durham and Phoenix to transatlantic routes
American Airlines Cargo has added Raleigh Durham and Phoenix to its transatlantic services this winter. The carrier’s schedule now 11 European and 11 US cities with over 35 daily flights and with connections throughout the American Airlines global network.
The airline is currently providing daily service from London Heathrow Airport (LHR) to all US destinations on a mix of Boeing widebody aircraft, including the 777-200, 777-300 and 787-9.
Other cities served in the schedule are Boston, Charlotte, Dallas/Fort Worth, New York JFK, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, Philadelphia and Seattle-Tacoma.
There are also direct services from Madrid to Dallas/Fort Worth, New York JFK, Miami and Philadelphia and from Barcelona to New York JFK sand Miami.
Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport will have direct service to Dallas/Fort Worth, New York JFK, Miami, Chicago and Philadelphia as well as connections to Charlotte from both Frankfurt and Munich and a service between Frankfurt and Dallas/Fort Worth.
Milan Malpensa and Rome–Fiumicino have a route to New York JFK and Philadelphia while Amsterdam, Dublin Airport and Zurich Airport will continue to service Philadelphia as well.
Sales director for the EMEA and APAC regions, Emma Oliver, said: “This is a really major expansion of our winter service following the years of the pandemic and is tremendous news for American Airlines customers in both the UK and across Europe. We continue to see demand for our capacity to the US, as we have many customers wanting to move their cargo across our domestic network and beyond to Latin America or Asia.”
MNG celebrates quarter century in the air
Privately-owned Turkish all-cargo carrier MNG Airlines has celebrated the 25th anniversary of its first flight by producing a mini documentary.
MNG started operations with scheduled cargo flights to Germany and England. Its business model is focused on providing flexible services by offering scheduled and charter flights, cargo and ground handling, warehouse services and national and international road transportation services.
General manager Ali Sedat Özkazanç said: “Aviation has meant logistics for us since we were established as Turkey’s first private cargo airline. While we are growing with our New York and Toronto flights in the American continent, we are expanding our presence in the Asia region with our Uzbekistan and Kazakhistan flights.”
He added that MNG plans to expand its fleet with a converted A321P2F aircraft to meet growing demand for short distance transport.
He added: “Our success would not have been possible without our customers, who have been with us all these years. But my biggest thanks go to our dedicated employees, who make MNG Airlines quarter-century brand.”
The company has received an Operational Excellence Award from Airbus six times in the last 15 years for its A300/A300-600 freighter fleet.
The carrier currently operates a fleet of six Airbus A300-600 and three Airbus A330 aircraft.
DSV books first green shipment on Etihad
DSV Global Transport and Logistics has become the first partner to purchase sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) under Etihad Cargo’s book and claim system. DSV’s SAF purchase, enabled the transport and logistics provider to offset CO2 emissions and reduce non-CO2 climate impact on a shipment from Washington Dulles to Abu Dhabi on Etihad’s first transatlantic NetZero flight on 13 November. Etihad’s Boeing 787 “Greenliner” combined SAF with contrail prevention technology from its partner, SATAVIA, to actively manage carbon emissions and non-CO2 climate effects from contrails, or condensation trails, which are responsible for up to two-thirds of aviation’s climate impact.
Etihad renews CEIV Pharma
Etihad Cargo has been recertified to the Center of Excellence for Independent Validators (CEIV) Pharma standard by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The Abu Dhabi-based carrier is one of only 37 airlines to hold IATA CEIV Pharma certification globally.
Etihad first achieved IATA CEIV Pharma certification in 2019 for its hub at Abu Dhabi International Airport and Etihad Airport Services Cargo and then went on to become the first airline in the Middle East and only the third globally to hold CEIV Pharma, CEIV Fresh and CEIV Live Animals certifications.
Etihad Cargo achieved IATA CEIV Pharma recertification following an audit by independent validators that assessed the carrier’s capacity to control and enhance its processes.
Etihad Cargo is also a founding member of the HOPE Consortium, and together with Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC), Brussels Airport Company and Pharma.Aero launched Pharma Corridor 2.0 between Brussels and Abu Dhabi, an initiative that aims to provide the highest levels of assurance in the quality of handling to pharmaceutical shippers under the CEIV Pharma programme.
KN takes delivery of first freighter
Kuehne+Nagel has put its first Boeing 747-8 freighter into operation under its long-term charter agreement with Atlas Air. The Swiss-based forwarder is chartering the entire capacity of the very last two 747-8F aircraft being delivered by Boeing. The plane, which will operate Transpacific and intra-Asia routings, was handed over at a ceremony at the plane-maker’s Everett Delivery Center.