SHORT SHOTS

CEVA launches new UK pharma facility
The supply chain management company, CEVA Logistics, has just opened a newly refurbished pharma facility in Redditch, UK. The new facility has room to service various healthcare customers at the same time. New ventilation and air conditioning systems have been installed as well as a HVAC system which allows for better temperature control for highly sensitive healthcare products. The UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has fully approved CEVA’s new facility as a safe and secure component of the medical supply chain. CEVA also has a new five year warehouse agreement with Nutricia which is the UK’s leading provider of so called medical nutrition. The opening of the new facility coincides with the new deal with Nutricia.

NAS and AFS extend their Nairobi contract
Network Airline Services (NAS) and Nairobi based Africa Flight Services Kenya (AFS Kenya) have extended their present contract for a further two years. The cargo handling contract extension comes just when NAS starts to add additional freighter services into Nairobi. The carrier which operates with MD-11 and B747 freighter equipment will now have four weekly frequencies running through Nairobi, all of which originate in Liege, Belgium. It is expected that AFS will handle almost 12,000 tonnes per annum for NAS. Inbound flights bring general cargo from Europe and the return leg from Nairobi to Doncaster Sheffield Airport in the UK, mainly carries fresh flowers, fruits and vegetables. AFS Kenya, one of the country’s  largest air cargo handlers also operates a special facility in NBO for the handling of perishable cargo with temperature control of between 2 - 8 degrees Celsius. Gonzalo Jacob, CEO of AFS Kenya stated “NAS operates a very successful service to and from Kenya and provides an essential link to and from Europe for companies in and around Nairobi.”

LH Cargo and Fraport Ground Services extend present agreement
In a statement issued last Friday, LH Cargo and Fraport Ground Services confirmed that the present ground handling agreement at Frankfurt Airport between both companies will be extended for a further eight years from 2018 until 2025. The new agreement covers aircraft ground handling which in particular also includes the loading and unloading of all freighters belonging to Lufthansa Cargo, as well as transport of cargo to and from the aircraft within the airport perimeter.
Fraport’s Michael Mueller, member of the Executive Board, stated: “we are very pleased that Lufthansa Cargo has decided to continue its successful collaboration with Fraport Ground Services.

Hactl breaks three records within one week
Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) announced that they have broken three records within the first week of November. The first was the handling of 31,280 tonnes of export cargo in the company’s SuperTerminal 1, which surpasses the record tonnage of 30,593 tonnes in November 2016.
Secondly, during the same week the overall tonnage handled in the terminal surpassed that of November 2016, to reach 42,471 tonnes compared to 41,926 tonnes the previous year. Lastly - Hactl handled 102 freighter aircraft in a single day on 5 November. The previous record was for 101 freighters on 23. November last year.

DP-DHL record a strong Q3
Deutsche Post-DHL report that they have achieved a strong result for the third quarter of this year. Net income went up by 3.7% to 641 million euros and the total revenues earned in Q3 were 14.64 billion euros, an increase of 5.6% compared to the previous year. DP-DHL state that all four divisions showed good results with the Express product outperforming the other three by showing a 10.4% year-on-year operating profit of 372 million euros on revenues totaled at 3.65 billion euros. The company added that despite the negative effects of Latin American currencies, that also Express revenues in the Americas were increased by 13% during the first nine-months of this year.

QR Cargo adds Yangon, Myanmar to its freighter network
The route Doha-Yangon-Doha is served once a week with an A330F, capable of uplifting 60 tons per flight. It complements the lower deck capacity offered by the Gulf carrier’s daily pax flights on this route. In a release QR Cargo points out that Myanmar’s air freight exports and imports have risen by a tremendous 87 percent and 58 percent in metric tons since 2014. The dedicated freighter service will provide additional capacity to support Myanmar’s thriving garment exports, as well as other major commodities, including fresh produce and food products. Ready-made garments are the chief exports destined mainly for Europe and the United States via a seamless stopover at the cargo carrier’s Doha hub. The new service will also facilitate the transit of pharmaceutical imports from Europe to Myanmar.
QR’s Acting Chief Officer Cargo, Guillaume Halleux, commented: “Since the country’s liberalization, Myanmar has had the fastest-growing economy in the ASEAN region, and foreign investment in local trade has seen tremendous growth. We are extremely proud to be the first international airline to serve this emerging market with scheduled freighter service as we aspire to become the premier air cargo service provider in the region.” 

FLEET NEWS
Azerbaijan Airlines is said to be considering acquiring two large freighter aircraft from Boeing in the foreseeable future. So far the decision is outstanding as to whether these will be 747Fs or 777Fs. The announcement came when the Baku-based carrier announced an order for five additional B787-8 passenger aircraft with Boeing.
Taiwan’s EVA Air has now taken delivery of their first B777 freighter. The aircraft will be deployed on EVA Air’s Transpac routes. The carrier has another four B777Fs on order with Boeing.
Astral Aviation, the Nairobi-based freighter company, has decided to wet lease a B747-400F from Air Atlanta Icelandic to replace the present B747-400F on lease from Atlas Air. It will be operated by Network Airline Management for their twice-weekly Nairobi - London Stansted flights.
Ethiopian Airlines expands their cargo fleet even further by ordering another four Boeing 777 freighters. The Addis Ababa-based airline already has six B777Fs in their fleet along with two B757Fs and in the meantime serves almost 40 cargo destinations in Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

John Mc Donagh  /  Heiner Siegmund