SHORT SHOTS

Liege to invest heavily in cargo, totaling €50 m

A total of 30 million euros will be invested by Liege Airport during 2018 in order to create new ramp parking areas for large freighters. Aircraft ramp handling space is becoming rare at LGG as full freighter flights continue to increase. Construction will begin in 2018 and it is expected that the new positions will be fully operational sometime in 2019.
Liege recently announced that they were planning to provide a further 20,000 sqm of additional warehouse space at the airport in order to cope with future growth and recent demand for handling area extensions. This investment along with the new ramp positions means that a total of €50 million is being allocated during 2018. Tonnage throughput for 2017 is expected to be over 700,000 tonnes.

Chinese retailer JD looks at own air cargo division

JD.com which is seen as being one of the largest online retailers in China is reported to be considering starting their own in-house air cargo division. The company had already set up JD Logistics earlier in 2017. In an interview in the South China Morning Post, JD head of logistics, Bill Fu Bing apparently stated that: “I can only say aviation will be important for logistics in the future. Do we need to buy our own planes and build our own airports? This is something we are looking at.” JD is presently looking seriously at future drone delivery models and reported a turnover of around US$40 billion during 2016.

KLM Martinair Cargo starts "WHAT COUNTS"

Small and medium sized customers of KLM Martinair Cargo can now benefit from a new service which is labeled as WHAT COUNTS. In a recent release the carrier announced the roll out of the new service whereby customers can make use of the KL-MP myCargo digital portal in order to book and manage their shipments themselves. The service is available 24/7 and the carrier says that it bundles a number of easy-to-connect services, tailor-made offers along with an own loyalty programme under the WHAT COUNTS title.
Gertjan Roelands, Vice President Cargo Europe stated that - “We are able to approach every customer in a unique way, based on their particular needs, by sending them specific offers and information appropriate to their level of specialisation.”

Panalpina to acquire Adelantex and AD Handling
In a move to further broaden their perishable handling portfolio, Panalpina has announced that they plan to acquire Brussels-based Adelantex NV and AD Handling. A provisional agreement on the deal has been signed by all three companies. Adelantex has handling set-ups in both Brussels and Liege and is reported to handle around 75,000 tons per annum, almost all of which is of a perishable nature, at both locations. This includes customs clearance and distribution throughout Europe.
Adelantex and their sister company AD Handling are seen as being the major players for perishable imports into Belgium and they operate their own facility in BRU located directly on the airport ramp. This warehouse also has a 1,600 sqm cold storage area for fruits, vegetables flowers, fish and plants. Bruno Jacques, Panalpina M.D. for Belgium is happy with the upcoming deal and stated that: “our perishable network is expanding rapidly. After the acquisitions in Kenya, Germany and the Netherlands, we are now delighted to welcome new perishable experts in Belgium.”

Who gets Jade’s last B747F?
Late last year two of the three remaining defunct Jade Cargo B747-400Fs were sold off quite cheaply to China based SF Express who apparently plans to use them on new long-haul flights into Europe. The third aircraft was not sold at the time, but was now again up for auction at a reduced reserve price of just under US$15 million. There were reported to be two bidders, one of which could again be SF Express. The other was hinted being an Israeli based airline. It looks like it goes to Tel Aviv based CAL Cargo Airlines as at the auction held online last week it was sold for US$22.3 million to Eshel Heffez who is listed as being CAL’s Fleet Planning Consultant.
SF Express continues with their regional and international expansion plans and their two B747Fs could be an ideal platform for them to set-up a regular e-commerce network between China and Europe.

Shanghai reaches the 4 million tonnes
The Shanghai Airports Authority has reported that their two airports, Pudong International (PVG) and Hongqiao International (SHA) had collectively handled 4 million tons of air cargo by mid December 2017. Most of which was handled at PVG. Shanghai now joins Memphis and Hong Kong as the only airports which can boast having handled more than 4 million tonnes per annum. The Shanghai Chamber of Commerce reveal figures that show that the Shanghai Airports have developed their cargo business by large steps during the past seven years. It was in 2010 that they had already reached the 3 million tonne mark. The majority volume of cargo passing through Shanghai is by sea, which still accounts for 99% of the total volume and airfreight contributing 1%. However - impressive figures as far as air freight tonnage is concerned.

FLEET NEWS
Anchorage-based Northern Air Cargo will add their first B737-400F to the fleet. This is a converted ex-British Airways passenger aircraft. Northern already operates two B737-200Fs and a single B737-300F.
Aerotrans Cargo which is based in Moldova is reported to be acquiring another B747-400F which previously operated for Malaysian Airlines. Aerotrans already have three B747Fs in their fleet of which two are leased out to other carriers.
The Mexican carrier Aeronaves TSM has received a further MD-83F which was converted to a freighter after having served in American Airlines passenger fleet.
ASL Airlines Belgium gets another B737-400F which they are leasing from GECAS. This also is a P2F conversion.

John Mc Donagh