SHORT SHOTS

airBaltic signs up with B&H
Latvian carrier airBaltic which is headquartered in Riga and operates a fleet of 34 aircraft, has signed an agreement with B&H Worldwide for them to handle the carrier’s Aircraft On Ground (AOG) and service cargo to and from London’s Gatwick Airport. The new agreement which is already in effect, sees B&H Worldwide managing all airBaltic’s AOG, time critical and normal shipments.
airBaltic has been growing steadily during the past couple of years and recently was the first airline to introduce the new Airbus A220 model into line service. The A220 is basically the Canadian manufacturer Bombardier’s C-Series aircraft. It was first introduced as the Bombardier C-100 with Swiss International Air Lines in 2016, but since the Airbus takeover of Bombardier, airBaltic is the first to operate under the new flag.

SpiceJet launches SpiceXpress
Shortly ago, the Chennai, India-based carrier introduced its first freighter aircraft, a Boeing 737-700F, as exclusively reported on 2 September by CargoForwarder Global (view Archive). This Tuesday (Sep 18) the next step is about to follow when the carrier launches its cargo subsidiary SpiceXpress. 
Right from the start, domestic and international routes will be operated with two B737-700 freighters, eventually adding two B737-800Fs thereafter. SpiceJet chairman and managing director Ajay Singh said that freighter services complement the belly cargo services, adding that “SpiceJet is the first scheduled airline to branch out into freighters. This is the first of four-cargo aircraft that will join our fleet this year.”
Following on the announcement of its new freighter subsidiary SpiceXpress, the parent company has announced the launch of a new New Delhi-Kabul freighter service from October 15 and the signing of a pact with the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) for transporting fresh fruit, dry fruits, carpets and other commodities from Kabul to India, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.
Under the pact, aimed at promoting trade for the war-ravaged country through the Indo-Afghan air corridor, SpiceJet plans to transport 1,500 tonnes of cargo every month, the airline said in a release. The imports arriving from Kabul will be transited at New Delhi and Mumbai and distributed to 47 cities in India through SpiceJet’s pan-Indian passenger flight network.
In a separate development, a London court said a ruling on whether Indian tycoon and owner of defunct Kingfisher Airlines, Vijay Mallya would be extradited from Britain to India, has been set for December 10, 2018.
India wants the 62-year-old Indian to face criminal charges relating to loans taken out by his defunct Kingfisher Airlines and Indian authorities want to recover about US$1.4 billion they say Kingfisher owes. Mallya moved to Britain in March 2016 and his lawyer, Clare Montgomery, told London’s Westminster Magistrates Court that the Indian government had failed to provide any substantial evidence to justify extraditing him.

Mass arrests on new Istanbul Airport
The Turkish police detained hundreds of participants in a demonstration against poor working conditions at the construction site of the new Istanbul Airport. Officials used tear gas and heavy vehicles to end the protest of thousands of workers. Forces of the paramilitary gendarmerie had also opened the doors of workers' accommodation and had penetrated into the quarters.
The protests against low wages, sluggish payment behavior of construction companies, poor food supply, the spreading of bed bugs and hazardous working conditions were sparked off by a shuttle bus accident, injuring 17 workers last Friday, with some of them hurt badly.
It is the latest wave of mass arrests following the incarceration of hundreds of President Erdogan-critical journalists along with ten thousands of teachers, lawyers, members of the military and public servants who are detained on the ground of sympathizing with prohibited political Kurdish groups or in the context of the attempted coup in mid-2016 to drive Erdogan out of office.
The airport is a prestigious project by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is currently under heavy fire due to a currency crisis in his country.
The labour conflict endangers the inauguration of the airport constructed northwest of Istanbul, scheduled for end of October 2018.

TIACA joins up with the TSA
TIACA and the TSA Group have joined to support training in aviation security as well as for the transport of dangerous goods by air. An extensive training programme is being put together for air cargo staff which focusses on DGR and air cargo aviation security. TIACA has been appointed by the TSA Group as a non-exclusive agent for this purpose. The courses which are also supported by the TSA Group’s UK branch include topics such as “Air Transportation - A Manager’s Perspective” and “Aviation Management.”
This new agreement complements the present courses being offered by TIACA in conjunction with Strategic Aviation Solutions International (SASI), which have been in effect for some time already.

DIMOTRANS joins WACO as French member
The WACO System which is a network group of independent freight forwarders has appointed Lyon, France-based DIMOTRANS Group as their new member for France. DIMOTRANS specialises in logistics services to the fashion, outdoors, wines and spirits, aerospace, e-commerce and industrial projects industries.
WACO now has almost 120 independent forwarders in 115 countries within their network two main meetings each year with its members.

cargo.one teams up with Dachser
Following a trial period, logistics firm Dachser has decided to use cargo.one as their digital booking platform for air freight capacity in the spot market. With immediate effect, the cross-airline booking platform developed by cargo.one is now available to Dachser employees engaged in air freight export. It enables the staff to search for, compare and book air freight capacity across airlines with immediate confirmation.
The cargo.one cooperation enables Dachser to take a further step towards digitalisation. Timo Stroh, Head of Global Air Freight at Dachser, emphasizes the importance of this pact: "Some solutions promise digital bookability, but usually with no access to capacity.” He went on to say: “In contrast, cargo.one offers us, in any market situation, fast and secure access to capacity based on live rates.”
Oliver T. Neumann, founder and managing director of cargo.one is happy with the deal: “cargo.one is easily usable by freight forwarders without complicated integration, while enabling rapid digitalisation, and thus securing the business of the future.”
Prior to Dachser, Lufthansa Cargo had also entered into a service agreement with cargo.one.
The Berlin, Germany-based and 2017 founded company is the first of its kind offering their customers to book dynamic spot rates. 

Brussels Airport Community celebrates airport’s anniversary
Brussels Airport Company threw a party for its own community to celebrate the airport’s 60’th anniversary. The official celebration has been going on since 5 July, the day of the official opening of the airport in 1958. In the same year Brussels was host to the World Exhibition and in desperate need of a new airport. It was built adjacent to the old airport at Melsbroek, built by the German army during the war, which still accommodates the Belgian Air Force. Even if the official photo trailer on the BAC website does not mention the cargo business at all, it must not be forgotten that Brussels was a forerunner in the development of the dedicated freight village Brucargo as early as 1980.

VTB and Russian Post team up
VTB Group, Russia’s second largest provider of financial services next to Sberbank and Post of Russia have formed a joint venture aimed at building 38 logistics centers across the country.
Each participant of the JV named National Logistic Technologies will invest 15.1 million euros over the next three years.
According to the contract, both enterprises will own the joint venture on a parity basis. "For the preservation and development of our market positions, we need the nationwide existence of a state-of-the-art logistics system, comprising of modern sorting centers, warehouses for processing orders and modern information IT solutions," said Nikolai Podguzov, General Director of the Russian Post.
The launch of logistics centers will ensure delivery of goods on the next day after orders are placed online in all major cities of the country and the following day in regional centers.
 
John Mc Donagh  /  Nol van Fenema /  Heiner Siegmund  /  Marcel Schoeters