SHORT SHOTS

BRUcargo export flow gets a new tool
Brussels Airport ’s cargo department, BRUcargo, went live on 1. July with the “Customs Export Application“ tool which is designed to help the cargo community to have an even smoother flow of data amongst each other.

This ‘app’ has been introduced in addition to previous ones in the BRUcloud which is the community platform accessible by all users of the cargo community. These are in order to allow users to cut down processing time within the air waybill (AWB) issuance. The new addition is geared towards bettering manifest data in the BRUcloud system which has been in effect already since 2016. BRUcargo management states that the new app matches data at AWB level and give a complete set of information directly to the customs officials. This is an advantage for forwarders who can save time by not having to stand in line at the Customs offices in order to have their AWBs stamped, and other manual paper-based procedures. Steven Polmans, Head of Cargo at Brussels Airport stated: “It is the first result whereby information from different sources can be linked to one new solution, without much effort, but with great impact on the day-to-day operation of the companies participating.”

LH Cargo - “sun protection for refrigerated freight”
The Lufthansa Cargo Cool Center at Frankfurt Airport is being expanded and the carrier has already begun with what it terms as the Road Feeder Service Cool, which they claim is the world’s first of its kind. LH Cargo has been aiming at pushing ahead with new developments in the refrigerated cargo sector. In a statement released last week, the carrier announces that “every customer’s cargo in the passive refrigeration sector worldwide will now be protected without any additional fees by a new reflective film produced exclusively for Lufthansa Cargo.” The carrier further announced that it is aiming at even shorter transit times for sensitive shipments between the handling facilities and the aircraft on the apron. The new reflective film is said to provide optimum protection for theses shipments against unavoidable sunlight on the airport tarmacs around the world.
How this actually works, remains so far a company secret.

IAG Cargo launches Constant Climate product for pharma
Not to be outdone by LH Cargo (see above), IAG Cargo has announced that Constant Climate shipments are now able to fly under its Critical product, which is said to allow emergency medical shipments to benefit from IAG Cargo’s top priority service.
The Critical product was launched by IAG Cargo almost a year ago and the company states that already more than 2000 so called emergency shipments have been transported around the world. The addition of Constant Climate shipments being accepted enables shippers with urgent pharmaceuticals to have instant access to the non-off loadable status and performance guarantees which are offered under the Critical flag.

TNT Express trying to get back to normal after cyber attack
Late last month TNT Express was hit badly by the so called ‘Petya cyberattack’ which partly shut down their operations. A filing to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission by TNT Express mother company, FedEx, states that clients were still suffering under widespread service and invoicing delays and that still manual processes are having to be used to hold up a large portion of the TNT operations and customer service aspects. The FedEx report further states that it is not yet known when services can be fully restored. The company is still evaluating what financial impact the cyber-attack will have although the company does have an insurance policy for such events.

Solenta Aviation wants to have SA Express liquidated
The South African based Solenta Aviation which is a charter operator as well as offering ACMI operations, has applied to have the South African state owned SA Express liquidated because they claim that SA Express owes them around US$6.5 million in unpaid leasing bills for three ERJ-145 aircraft which SA Express had under an ACMI lease contract during 2016. It seems that SA Express, despite a couple of attempts to get back on their feet, are almost at the end of the line. An apparent separate attempt to save SA Express by Chinese start-up carrier Fly Modern Ark has also now been dropped. Fly Modern Ark has applied for their own AOC with the South African authorities and it is said that they would pick up where SA Express leaves off as far as routes are concerned. This would include the operation of two Airbus A300-600 freighters.

WACO starts up Pakistan-Afghanistan Transit Desk
WWG Consolidators Ltd which is WACO’s system member for Pakistan has now launched a dedicated Pak-Afghan cross-border transit desk. This move has been on the cards since the Pakistan Government earlier announced that it would establish what they termed as state-of-the-art transit facilities at the country’s borders with Torkham and Chaman, Afghanistan and Wagh, India, under the Integrated Transit Trade Management Systems (ITTMS) project. This project was approved in 2015 by the Pakistan Executive Committee of the Economic Council. Richard Charles, Executive Director at WACO stated that: “Afghanistan and Pakistan have rapidly growing economies and tremendous business opportunities for partners around the globe.”

DHL steps up Vietnam same day service
DHL’s e-Commerce department has introduced a Cash-On-Delivery (COD) next day domestic service within Vietnam. This new service was introduced after DHL having successfully surmounted the existing payment collection procedures in the country. This had hampered the expansion of e-commerce within Vietnam, a country where the majority of online shoppers still prefer to pay cash on delivery of their goods. The new systems works as follows: Retailers book shipments through online portals, parcels are dropped off at hubs located throughout the country, delivery and payment collection is effected by DHL who them remit the amounts on the same day to the e-tailers. Sounds simple!

John Mc Donagh