IN BRIEF, THE LATEST CARGO AIRLINE INDUSTRY NEWS.
Fraport first half year shows negligible cargo growth.
Despite recording a 13% increase in revenues for the first half year, the Fraport Group reported overall higher costs
and a disappointing air cargo result in Frankfurt. From January to June 1.1 million metric tons were handled through the airport. Fraport states that cargo results remained more-or-less stable in
comparison to the same period 2017. In other words, maybe somewhat less and this can be in part blamed on the continued handling problems at the warehouses and ramp side which have been affecting
cargo flows for almost a year now.
The July figures also reported a stronger growth in the passenger sector, but a decline in cargo tonnages. A total of 175,960 tons were handled. This is 6.4% less than July 2017. In their July
report Fraport blames this decline on less than normal all freighter flights during the month and less belly cargo flown due to heavy passenger load factors which restricted the carriage of cargo
on many flights.
American Airlines Cargo ups Q2 results
Dallas / Fort Worth-based American Airlines has had what they term as a record-setting Q2 cargo result. The good result is mainly due to the growth in June where the carrier moved a record amount
of pharmaceuticals as well as fruit and flowers. American Airlines cargo moved a total of 158,000 tons during Q2 2018. This was almost 10% more than the same period 2017. The carrier states that
e-commerce traffic has increased across their total network as well as a noticeable increase of pharma, flowers and fruit shipments. The flower traffic from Europe (France and Holland) to the USA
boomed during the month of June. The carrier also reports an increase in the movement of automobile parts from Japan to the USA which included the carriage of 1,800 heavy and hi-density V8
engines.
IATA sees further freight slowdown
At the beginning of August IATA released figures which show a further growth slowdown for air cargo during the month of June.
Despite an increase of 4.1% in freight capacity on offer across the globe (AFTKs).
The growth for the first six months of this year was only measured at 4.7%, which is almost less than half the 2017 growth rate. It can be expected that a general slowdown for the remainder of
the year will become apparent.
IATA sees main aspects which are forcing the present air cargo slowdown.
- the so-called restocking cycle ended already in early 2018 which showed a noticeable fall in air cargo volumes already as of March.
- global trading conditions have seen what IATA terms as a ‘structural slowdown’ and have reached the lowest level since 2016. This has resulted in factory order books in the USA, China and Japan showing negative growth.
- IATA also states that the grounding of the Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA) fleet in June has resulted in a 0.5% growth decline. Not a heavy amount, but a contributing factor.
Hermes gets new Products & Services head
UK-based Hermes Logistics Technologies (HLT) who design and plan cargo management systems for many airports and air cargo handlers worldwide, have appointed Jacek Lechocki as their Head of
Products and Services.
Mr Lechocki who started his cargo career at British Airways World Cargo will take the helm on the Cargo and Quality Control teams and will have overall responsibility for the Hermes Cargo PM,
Product PM and Help Desk services. On top of this he will also head cargo sales efforts among other areas of the Hermes business portfolio.
Hermes has now begun the global roll out of their new Hermes H5 service which they claim is capable of running with any Cloud. This they say will totally modernise their framework for a seamless
integration with new technology.
Rhenus Ireland takes over Avant
Rhenus Logistics Ireland has signed an agreement to acquire Avant Air and Sea which is headquartered in Dublin and is one of Ireland’s leading logistics companies. Avant Air and Sea was founded
in 1990 and offers sea and air freight services as well as cross-border import and export services. The company also has branches in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
Their portfolio includes among others consolidation, AOG services, express and customs services. Dave Warren, Avant’s Managing Director commented on the takeover that “we’ve found a customer
orientated partner in the Rhenus Group and it will enable us to continue developing our services for our existing and future customers due to its global network and comprehensive expertise.”
FLEET NEWS
One of the five Airbus A330Fs which were on Etihad Airways Cargo’s books will now be flying for DHL.
Etihad had mothballed the five freighters in January and now one aircraft with the registration A6-DCA was handed over on 14. August to Leipzig-based European Air Transport (EAT) which operates for DHL.
Egypt Air Cargo has added its maiden Airbus A330-200P2F freighter to their fleet. The aircraft was converted by Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW) in Dresden, Germany.
Air Algérie has obtained their first B737-800P2F freighter after conversion by China’s Jinan based STAECO. Air Algerie also operates two B737-700 freighters.
Edwin Air Cargo which is based on the UK’s Isle of Man, has started cargo operations using an Antonov AN-26B freighter. The carrier will offer charter flights from its Liverpool
Airport base.
John Mc Donagh
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