SHORT SHOTS

IN BRIEF, THE LATEST AIRLINE INDUSTRY NEWS.

UAE Armed Forces contract goes to Maximus
The United Arab Emirates Defense Ministry announced at the International Defence Exhibition in Abu Dhabi that they have award Abu Dhabi-based freight operator, Maximus Air a contract worth almost half a billion U.S. dollars for the purchase of a number of cargo aircraft which are to be utilized for commercial purposes.
Maximus was founded in 2005 and operates out of AUH with one Antonov AN-124 freighter and an Iluyshin IL-76 cargo aircraft. The carrier has made a name for itself in the region with the transport of heavy and outsized shipments as well as live animals.
It was not mentioned which type of aircraft will be ordered or what market segments Maximus may use these in.

LH Cargo gets DHL’s Preferred Carrier status
DHL Global Forwarding has awarded Lufthansa Cargo the “GoGreen Carrier Certificate” as well as naming the airline as a Preferred Carrier.
After evaluating LH Cargo and other airlines, DHL awarded the German carrier full points in all four of the GoGreen Carrier rating categories. No other carrier in the rating achieved such a high score.
The rating was based on specific CO2 emissions (Carbon Efficiency), commitment to harmonising CO2 calculation and reporting standards (Engagement), as well as Transparency and Cooperation.
The German carrier has set itself the task of reducing CO2 emissions by 25% until 2020 - taking 2005 emissions as the baseline.

Aviance Ghana goes for Kale Air Cargo’s GALAXY
The Accra based handling agent, Aviance Ghana has selected the Kale Air Cargo Management System - GALAXY in order to enhance critical functions such as tracking and reporting, auto billing and EDI messaging.
Kale who are a leading global IT solutions provider and supplier of technology solutions to the logistics industry have announced that Aviance has already gone online with the GALAXY web based airport cargo management system.
Aviance is Ghana’s largest air cargo handler as well as providing a wide range of ground handling services in Accra.
The Aviance managers stated that they chose the Kale system over other offers because of its robust system that enables electronic data interchange (EDI) and integrates well with their own internal applications. Paul Craig, M.D. of Aviance Ghana stated that “we are happy with GALAXY as it met our requirements completely. The new system has helped us automate our operations and move towards digital logistics.”

IAG Cargo changes CFO’s
Lewis Girdwood who has spent the past seven years with UK-based EasyJet, has taken up the position of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at IAG Cargo.
He will take over from Sara Nicholl who is said to be taking a sabbatical. Sara has a total of 13 years with British Airways and has spent almost the last two years in the position of CFO at IAG Cargo.
Mr Girdwood was Head of Financial Planning and Analysis at EasyJet and brings a total of 25 years of financial experience with him.
During his tenure with EasyJet he was responsible for critical business projects as well as the 2013 decision to renew the carrier’s fleet with the new generation of Airbus NEO aircraft.

Air Astana expands Hettihewa’s responsibility
Susith Hettihewa who has held the position of Regional General Manager EU & UK for Air Astana for the past nine years has been awarded the extra responsibility for developing Air Astana services within the Americas.
The carrier, which operates regular services from Kazakstan to Frankfurt, London, Paris and Amsterdam, wishes to deepen its business relations with the Americas as they see this area as a key market for the future.
The carrier operates with a mixed fleet of Boeing 767 and 757 passenger aircraft on long haul services which also offer considerable belly capacity for cargo.

TIACA calls for more transparency
“Change is needed, and all sectors of the cargo supply chain industry must work together to drive adoption of new technology and greater transparency.”
This was the latest message given in a new position paper published by the TIACA Shippers Advisory Committee.
The Advisory committee does not tire from stressing the point that it’s high time that change is implemented in all sectors of the supply chain industry and that all must work closer in order to adopt new technology and greater all-round transparency.
The Advisory Committee was formed last year and is chaired by Lars Droog who is Head of Supply Chain and General Affairs for the Tosch Corporation. One of its main aims is to enable shippers to voice their opinions more openly in existing discussions and initiatives on adopting new processes and technology.

John Mc Donagh