SHORT SHOTS

Afriqiyah Airways looking at freighter aircraft
The Libyan carrier Afriqiyah Airways which is based in Tripolis is apparently mulling over the idea to add a wide body freighter to their fleet.
The carrier was founded in 2001 and started services with B737-400 passenger aircraft. The fleet grew with the addition of two Airbus A320-200 in 2007.
Afriqiyah lost an Airbus A330 passenger aircraft in 2011 in a landing accident but in the meantime has a further two A330-300 aircraft in its fleet.
Whether they will opt for an Airbus or Boeing freighter remains to be seen.

Trigana  Boeing 737 freighter heavily damaged in hard landing
The Indonesian airline, Trigana Air Services which is based in Jakarta, Indonesia suffered a very heavy landing at Indonesia’s Wamena Airport on September 13th.
The aircraft, a Boeing 737-300 freighter which was operating a service from Jayapura to Wamena, lost its left main gear on landing and the right geared collapsed when the aircraft skid down the runway.
There were no injuries, but it is uncertain as to whether the aircraft is a write off or not.
Trigana operates a mixed fleet of Boeing 737 and ATR72/42 aircraft on routes within the region.

Fleet Movements

• Amazon has added another B767 freighter to their portfolio. The leasing arm of ATSG, Cargo Aircraft Management (CAM) took delivery of the ex Qantas B767-300BDSF aircraft after it was converted into freight by Israel’s Bedeck Aviation. The aircraft is leased to Amazon by CAM and Amazon, as with other aircraft in their fleet, handed it over to ATSG where it will be operated in the Amazon Prime Air colours.
• KLM has retired another B747-400 combi from its fleet. The aircraft will be ferried over to the Mojave desert airport where usable spare parts will be taken out and sold. KLM now still has fourteen B747-400 combis in their fleet, all of which will be gradually phased out.
• PNG Air of Papua and New Guinea has taken delivery of their fourth ATR 72-600 combi aircraft. The carrier also operates thirteen Dash 8 passenger turboprops on regional services.
• ASL Airlines Switzerland  now operates an ATR 72-200F on behalf of logistics giant DHL. The aircraft will be used by DHL for operations within Africa.
• Services Air, based in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has taken delivery of an ex- Yangtze River Express B737-300F and will operate the aircraft on behalf of its cargo subsidiary, Serve Air Cargo.

Fraport’s August figures show continued pax decline
August passenger figures reported by Fraport, Frankfurt Airport’s operator, continue to show a decline. A total of 6 million passengers went through the airport in August and this was a notable 5% decline on the same period 2015.
Restrained bookings by holiday makers who are reluctant to travel due to the terrorist threats, is largely blamed for the loss.
Cargo throughput is reported to have remained stable with almost 172.000 tons, which represents a small 0.1% decline.

LH Cargo renames a further MD-11 freighter
In a ceremony recently held at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, Lufthansa Cargo renamed one of their fourteen MD-11Fs under the name of ‘Hello, Bonjour Canada.’
The christening ceremony was attended by Lufthansa Cargo’s Vice President for the Americas, Bernhard Kindelbacher, along with the German Consul General, Peter Fahrenholtz.
This is the tenth aircraft in LH Cargo’s fleet which has been renamed under the concept started in 2013 which was titled “ Say hello around the world.” This concept entails that all Lufthansa Cargo freighters will be christened from now on in some 20 languages.

Hanjin crash spurs Hellmann’s Eurasian rail services
The bankruptcy of Korean shipping line Hanjin has led to increased demand for trans-Eurasian rail transports, reports Hellmann Worldwide Logistics. Thousands of containers have stranded worldwide, while still being at sea or on board of Hanjin vessels docked at harbors. “We notice that the transport market is shifting since Hanjin went bust, with demand for rail transportation across the Eurasian land bridge increasing particularly in the automotive sector,” observes Vedat Serbet, Productmanager Hellmann Rail Solutions International. He went on to say that only recently a well-known car supplier has requested to rail 280 TEU across the land bridge.
Hellmann operates weekly cargo trains running both ways between China and Europe, each carrying up to 41 40-foot containers. Only recently, a cooperation agreement between the logistics company and the Chinese port of Lianyungang was signed, offering local companies to opt for Hellmann’s rail solutions.

ABC launched Seattle services
Seattle has become AirBridgeCargo’s sixth destination in North America. The city is serviced twice weekly with Boeing 747 equipment. It’s a round-the-world flight, starting in Moscow Sheremetyevo, stopping first in Seattle and then in Chicago from where the freighter returns to Europe and Moscow.
States Hendrik Falk, ABC’s Vice President, North and South America: “For the last couple of years we have significantly grown AirBridgeCargo’s footprint in the USA in response to customer needs and the ever-changing market environment. We expect our new Seattle service will enjoy strong support from customers transporting a wide variety of products, including aerospace components, machinery, fish, seafood and other perishables.”
Robert van de Weg, ABC’s Senior Vice President, Marketing & Sales added to this: “For customers in Asia, we will also offer solutions for aerospace cargoes from China, Japan, Korea and Singapore with a prime service to this important U.S. gateway.”

John Mc Donagh  /  Nol van Fenema  /  Heiner Siegmund