SHORT SHOTS

LH Cargo becomes Premium Partner for German Equestrian Federation
The cargo arm of the German national carrier has been transporting thoroughbred horses for more than 30 years and has gained much experience in the handling of these sensitive animals which are transported mainly to equestrian events around the world.
The German Equestrian Federation has now nominated LH Cargo as its Premium Partner for such transport.
The Equestrian Federation is an umbrella organization for all breeders, riders, drivers and vaulters in Germany.
Dr. Alexis von Hoensbroech, LH Cargo Board Member Product and Sales commented that “for us, the new partnership with the Equestrian Federation is also a way of honoring our many years of expertise in horse transportation, After all, the FN is the biggest equestrian sport association in the world.“

CEVA Logistics holds its own in difficult market conditions
The continuing difficult market conditions in both Air and Ocean freight have resulted in a difficult first half year for CEVA Holdings LLC.
The logistics company which is one of the world’s largest, provided figures for results between January and June 2016 which were lower than those of the same period a year before.
Total revenues for the period were US$ 3,232 billion, down 7.8 percent on January to June 2015 results.
Adjusted EBITDA was also down by 5.6 percent to US$ 118 million from US$125 million in the same period last year.
The company states however that when considering the effects of the so called “Constant Currency“ change, that EBITDA was actually 1.6 percent above last year and revenues were 4.1 percent and not 7.8 percent below.
The first half year results listed reflect the earnings generated by CEVA’s Freight Management and Contract Logistics branches.

New USA freighter airline takes to the skies
A new US air freight airline named 21-Air and based in Greensboro, North Carolina has received US Department of Transport (DoT) permission to start operations.
21-Air will operate with two Boeing 767-200F aircraft which are leased from JW Aviation which also happens to be a firm run by 21-Air’s owner, Adolfo Moreno.
21-Air also runs a charter brokering outfit which seems to be generating good revenues and profits and this fact was said to be a deciding factor for the DoT to grant permission to form the airline.
The company will use both the freighters to run a yet to be published domestic schedule as well as chartering them for international flights.

Cargolux names new Head of Flight Operations
The Luxembourg based all cargo airline has not wasted any time in appointing a successor for Jason Holt as the new Executive Vice President of Flight Operations.
Holt, who was only with CV for the best part of a year, left suddenly a week or two ago,
Claude Zehren has been appointed to the position, but it is not sure whether this is a permanent or temporary move.
Mr Zehren has been with Cargolux for the past 18 years as a pilot and a member of the management team. he is said to have gained extensive experience of CV’s flight operations and is seen as being ideal for the job.
In his new position, Claude Zehren will also become a member of Cargolux’s Executive Committee.

Fraport forms CargoCity South Users Committee
A  Cargo City “Users Committee“ made up of cargo-related companies active at Frankfurt Airport, has been established by Fraport, the Frankfurt Airport owner.
According to the press release issued by Fraport, the aim is to have an annual meting with the Users Committee to foster the exchange and cooperation between the airport and its users.
The first meeting was held on July 20th.
Dirk Schusdziara, head of freight at Fraport AG sees this as an opportunity to further enhance Frankfurt Airport’s attractiveness as a cargo hub.
We ask ourselves - why then only meet once a year?
Surely there are many pressing issues of the Cargo City users which warrant more than just an annual “get together.“

IAG Cargo Q2 results decrease
On July 29th IAG cargo management released their  Q2 2016 results.
April to June revenues fell by 12 percent to 241 million euros. At constant exchange rates this indicates an actual 12.8 percent decrease.
The company further stated that cargo volumes remained flat and yields fell by 13.4 percent. IAG Cargo continues to concentrate their efforts on expanding the premium products sector as well as introducing a stronger cost control.
Drew Crawley, IAG Cargo’s CEO stated that “trading conditions have become more competitive in 2016. Flat demand for consolidated general cargo and excessive freighter capacity in the industry is causing supply to continually outstrip demand.“
He refrains however from mentioning that Qatar Airways as an IAG Cargo partner is one of these carriers who are pushing more and more freighter and under-floor capacity into the market.

Fraport First Half Year figures show a decline
Revenues for the Fraport Group reached just over EUR 1.2 billion for the first six months of this year. This is a EUR 17.1 million decline year-on-year.
Fraport states that actual group revenues were up by EUR 19.2 million when one takes into account the adjustments made in the 2015 results with the sale of Fraport Cargo Services (FCS) and the disposal of Air-Transport IT Services.
EBITDA  fell by 1.7 percent to EUR 378.4 million.
Cargo volumes at Frankfurt rose slightly by 0.4 percent to just over 1 million metric tons.
The Group’s foreign holdings showed mixed results with Antalya Airport in Turkey continuing to show further decreasing passenger numbers.

John Mc Donagh