IN BRIEF, THE LATEST CARGO AIRLINE INDUSTRY NEWS.
YTO Cargo Airlines goes for ACMI operations
Hangzhou-based YTO Cargo Airlines which is part of the large Shanghai based YTO Express Group and which presently operates a fleet of ten freighters on express parcels routes throughout China, is
said to be looking at joining with other carriers such as ACMI operators or cargo charter airlines.
The move is aimed at YTO Cargo Airlines being able to offer not only capacity to the mother company, YTO Express, but also to other clients in the future. There are also plans that the carrier
will sell excess capacity available on their operations for YTO Express to other customers. It is further stated that the new ACMI or charter operations will be centered around new international
routes and that a new subsidiary named China Northwest International Cargo Airlines, based in Xi’an, will be used for this new venture. YTO Cargo Airlines is reported to be in the process of
adding a further three Boeing 757-200 freighters in addition to the two already in service. They also operate seven Boeing 737 freighters.
Saudia Cargo opens pharma cold storage in Jeddah
Not only has a new passenger terminal in Jeddah been opened during the past days, but also a new state-of-the-art pharmaceutical cold storage facility. Saudia Cargo inaugurated the new building
at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport during the past few days. It is a refrigerated warehouse which was opened to coincide with Saudia Cargo’s new product named FlyPharma. This,
Saudia states was introduced in order to cater for the increasing demand on Saudia Cargo flights for the transport of temperature-controlled shipments.
The new pharma building offers just over 1,000 square meters of pharma handling space and, says Saudia Cargo CEO, Omar Hariri, “conforms to the international standards of the World Health
Organization, the European Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use as well as the local standards of the Saudi Food and Drug Authority.” The carrier also has plans to open a similar
facility at Riyadh Airport. That one will be somewhat smaller, giving around 800 square meters of temperature-controlled handling space.
Swiss WorldCargo now has 36 QEP accredited stations
Envirotainer, one of the leading suppliers of cold chain solutions for the pharma supply chain and who works also closely with Swiss WorldCargo, recently announced that Swiss WorldCargo now have
a total of 36 QEP accredited stations in their network. Thirty-one of these stations also have the QEP Advanced Certification. Swiss WorldCargo claims that they now have the largest number of
stations online with this distinction.
Envirotainer launched their QEP programme more than 10 years ago in order to promote safer handling of high-cost pharmaceutical products. They cooperate with around 40 participating companies,
among them, Swiss WorldCargo. The programme has in the meantime been used to train thousands of individuals in more than 730 different stations across the world. Susanne Wellauer, Head of
Vertical Industry Pharmaceutical and Healthcare at Swiss WorldCargo commented that: “It clearly shows the expertise of our teams and our ability to handle Envirotainer shipments in accordance
with the industry standard Goods Distribution Practice.”
Bright future for secondary cargo airports predicted
An on-line polling initiated by Netherlands-based logistics player Jan de Rijk re-vealed that cargo volumes at secondary airports such as Maastricht, Frankfurt-Hahn, Vatry and some others will
grow faster compared to tonnage handled at large hubs. According to Jan de Rijk, a large diverse group of forwarders, airlines, general sales agents and other groups of the industry participated
at the poll, carried out during the company’s yearly summer event on June 7th, held this time at Schiphol airport.
Of the participants, more than 80 percent complained about infrastructural limita-tions at large hubs such as Amsterdam, Frankfurt or Heathrow, leaving little room for further growth.
The outcome of the poll also shows that almost 70% of the participants believe that the growth of airports with less catchment area is leading to a faster growth of air cargo trucking volumes
compared to the increase of freight flown by air.
Simultaneously, optimism about the future of Amsterdam Schiphol prevailed among the participants of the summer event, despite the current slot restrictions imposed on cargo flights.
In addition, attendees of the summer meeting were asked by Jan de Rijk, what they value most in selecting their road feeding service provider.
Good performance was mentioned most, followed by large network, and quality of customer service. The price and the extend of digitization were the least important criteria in this selection. The
survey also showed that almost 60% of the companies that were present is not ready yet to go 100% paperless.
Cargolux won’t carry anymore hunting trophies
The Luxembourg-based all-cargo carrier which has many of its routes passing through various African stations has made it known that with immediate effect they have banned the transport of so
called ‘game hunting trophies’ on their aircraft. They are now also one of many carriers who have introduced this ban on hunting trophies.
Cargolux who is committed to the welfare of all animals through their Live Animal transportation policy sees this as a necessary step and Richard Forson, the company’s President and CEO commented
that: “this (hunting) practice does not align with the company’s ethical engagements and policies.”
LATAM Cargo new BARIG member
The Board of Airline Representatives in Germany (BARIG) has welcomed LATAM Cargo which is part of the LATAM Airlines Group, as a new member. BARIG Secre-tary General, Michael Hoppe commented
that: “we are glad to welcome LATAM as a new BARIG member, especially since the cargo field is continuously gaining im-portance within our association. Air cargo infrastructure and process
optimisation at airports are essential topics regarding profitability and efficiency.”
LATAM Cargo offers space on their B767F freighters which operate into Europe as well as their numerous passenger flights. LATAM Cargo’s Senior Manager Sales Central Europe, Jorge Carretero
commented “the BARIG membership offers us an ideal platform to contribute to the development of major topics regarding the air traffic location Germany.”
Air Belgium goes for Hactl in HKG
The new Belgian start-up carrier, Air Belgium, which operates passenger services with Airbus A340 equipment, inaugurated their first flight from Brussels to Hong Kong and has chosen the Hong Kong
Air Cargo Terminals Limited (Hactl) to handle all cargo shipments on the carrier’s inbound and outbound flights through HKG. Air Belgium as of June 4th has started a twice-weekly BRU-HKG service
with their first A340-300 aircraft. There is capacity to also carry up to 14 tonnes of cargo per flight in each direction, the company states. Air Belgium operates from Brussels South (Charleroi
- CRL) Airport and not from the main airport at Zaventem. John Cooper, Cargo Manager Air Belgium is upbeat on the future potential for cargo on their flights. He stated that: “Cargo will play an
important role in generating revenue on this new route, and we are delighted to be working with Hactl.”
Tigers best Logistics Supplier
Hong Kong based Tigers Logistics was given the Best Logistics Supplier award at this year’s Avaya Annual Suppliers Meeting held in Singapore. Tigers which is aim-ing to launch their eShop
throughout all their offices worldwide this year was given the award for what was termed as their assistance to Avaya with their freight for-warding transition.
This is the second time that Tigers have taken this honour - the first being back in 2013. Tiger Logistics support covers many industries, among them automotive, health, active lifestyle, fashion
and wines and perishables goods.
John Mc Donagh / Heiner Siegmund
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