SHORT SHOTS

Air China Cargo settles in cartel case
Air China Cargo, the air cargo arm of Air China, has agreed to a USD50 million settlement of the Air Cargo shipping Services Antitrust Litigation suit, which had claimed that the carrier was in conspiracy with other air freight airlines for price fixing of cargo shipments between January 2000 and September 2006.
The Antitrust Litigation which is being handled by New York‘s Easter District court has in the meantime agreed to settlements with twenty-two defendant groups to the amount of USD848 million.
Two other carriers, Air India and Air New Zealand have so far refused on a settlement and now face trial procedures which are said to start against them in September of this year.

Swiss WorldCargo names new Global Area Manager
When Ashwin Bhat moved up to become Head of Cargo at Swiss WorldCargo late last year, he left his position as Head of Global Area Management unclaimed.
It was announced last week that Alexander Arafa will now take up the post left vacant by Ashwin. He will start his duties as of 1st June.
Mr Arafa began his career 33 years ago with Northwest Airlines in Hamburg and moved on to hold positions with Olympic Airways and American Airlines before then joining Lufthansa in 1993 as General Manager Sales & Distribution for the USA.
He moved to Swissair in 1999 as Head of Sales Europe and from 2001 to 2005 he was in charge of Product Development for the Swiss national carrier.
A three-year stint as Vice President Sales Europe from 2005 to 2008 was followed by his appointment as Head of Cabin Crew in 2008, a position which he has held to date.
Ashwin Bhat commented: “We are pleased to welcome Alexander Arafa to Swiss WorldCargo. Alexander’s strong commercial expertise, vast experience and personality, will perfectly complement our current skill set and Swiss WorldCargo culture.”

Amsterdam Airport looking for new blood
A report in Holland’s Financiele Telegraaf states that Amsterdam Schiphol Airport’s management is busy with trying to entice new strategic partners to boost the airport’s air cargo volumes.
Jonas van Stekelenburg, AMS Director of Cargo, was quoted as confirming that they are looking for parties who will tie-in with the airport on a long-term basis. He further confirmed that although the airport cargo volumes dropped somewhat last year, that the aim is to ensure that AMS Cargo grows faster than the market itself in order to consolidate Schiphol’s position as an important air cargo hub in Europe.
It’s not an easy task considering KLM’s steady withdrawal from the all-freighter market, their gradual rundown of the Boeing 747-Combi fleet and the demise of Martinair.
This gap has to be filled. It seems that Dutch politicians are now taking an interest in the future of Schiphol as a cargo hub. A delegation from Holland’s Second Parliamentary Chamber paid a visit to the freight area shortly ago and gave the message that it is high time that all parties get around the table to come up with firm ideas how to promote the air cargo development.

FedEx’s Newman joins TIACA board
Frank Newman, Managing Director of FedEx Services has just been appointed to the TIACA Board of Directors.
Newman, who is based at the FedEx headquarters in Memphis and who looks back on more than 35 years of aviation experience, takes over on the TIACA board from Sarah Prosser who is stepping down after six years on the board.
Mr Newman will take part in a panel at TIACA’s 2016 Air Cargo Forum which will look at the e-business challenges facing the industry.
Doug Brittin, TIACA’s Secretary General, says “we are pleased to welcome Frank, who brings a great deal of expertise in aviation from the perspective of an integrator.”

John Mc Donagh