SHORT SHOTS

Cargolux agrees new CWA with unions
It has taken almost a year of tough negotiations before Luxembourg-based all cargo airline Cargolux has been able to reach a new binding Collective Work Agreement with the unions.
It seems however that the last round of negotiations was held in a positive spirit and this has resulted in the signing of two new CWA’s with the Luxembourg union representatives of the LCGB and OGBL. The first agreement is backdated to 1. December 2018 and runs until 31. December 2019. The second, commences as of 1. January 2020 and is valid until 31. December 2022.
There will be a 6% salary increase for ground staff and a 4% increase for the carrier’s pilots over the four-year duration of the contracts. The agreements also forsee that all staff will now be brought to the same level as far as vacation and off-day benefits are concerned.
CV’s management and the LCGB, OGBL representatives have stated that collectively they have managed to bring together an agreement which is good for future employee benefit as well as continuing to protect the company’s stability for the future.
Cargolux CEO, Richard Forson stated: “I am pleased that we have managed to reach an agreement with our social partners. This agreement cements job security within our company while contributing to Cargolux’s sustainability on both social and economic fronts.”

Silk Way Airlines appoints Fadi Nahas as new VP Americas
Silk Way Airlines USA (SWA USA) has announced that Fadi Nahas will take up the position of Vice President, The Americas for the carrier. In his new role Mr Nahas will be responsible for all business development issues for SWA USA as well as for the company’s Azerbaijan affiliated airlines, Silk Way Airlines and Silk Way West Airlines activities in the Americas.
Fadi Nahas has been active in the air cargo and logistics branch for more than 30 years and brings a valued management experience into SWA USA’s team. He will also take the leading role in cementing the relationship with Global Feeder Services Holding (GFS) which was recently appointed as exclusive GSA for SWA USA.
Silk Way Airlines USA uses the capacity of Silk Way’s eleven wide-body freighters as well as belly capacity on Azerbaijan Airlines flights.

Antonov Airlines flies a Satellite
Carrying heavy and outsized cargo is nothing new for Antonov Airlines with their fleet of AN-124 freighters. The airline gets many requests for such transport and at the beginning of August they flew a satellite from Munich, Germany to Cayenne on behalf of the German satellite manufacturer OHB Systems.
The satellite and supporting equipment weighed in at around 70 tons. The satellite itself is a very sensitive piece of equipment and during the flight special data sensors were installed to constantly monitor temperature, pressure and humidity in the special container in which it was packed.
The trip went well and the satellite which is dubbed EDRS-C was rocketed into orbit on August 6th as part of the European Space Agency’s low Earth orbiting satellite programme. Transport to Munich Airport was undertaken by the German freight transport specialist, Kübler Spedition.
Antonov Airlines continues to support the Oil Spill Response (OSRL) programme which in the meantime has acquired a second transport skid to accommodate oil capping stacks. Antonov Airlines has confirmed that the skids can be loaded on both AN-124 variants they operate as well as their massive AN-225 aircraft.

FEDAGSA sets up global venture with MetroJets
The Federation of Airlines General Sales Agents (FEDAGSA) has announced the launch of a global venture with the USA-based carrier MetroJets for the exclusive promotion of its new Master Air Waybill, which carries the well known James Bond prefix  007!
FEDAGSA and MetroJets say that they have chosen one of the industry’s most easy to use, modern and up-to-date Cloud based solutions supplied by e-CARGOWARE. They claim that this flexible solution gives MetroJets and FEDAGSA members far better visibility to track and trace consignments by using a more effective accounting package. When using the e-CARGOWARE platform, FEDAGSA’s clients have access to high quality, reliable and precise information designed especially to boost sales and operational management, they state.

IAG cargo Q2 results drop
IAG Cargo’s second quarter results seem to be more or less in line with many of the world’s other air freight carriers.
April to June tonnages dropped by 1.1 percent and IAG cargo also reports a drop in yield of almost 3 percent for the period. Although capacity offered between April and June rose by 2.6 percent, actual volumes flown decreased by 0.4 percent resulting in a total revenue of €281 million - a 3.2 percent decrease over the same period last year.
IAG Cargo CEO, Lynne Embleton stated that: “the Global Purchasing Manager Index shows a month-by-month contraction in new export orders. As our business is linked to global trade, our reported revenue reflects the difficult market conditions.” She added however that: “going into the second half of 2019, we remain focused on investing in the future of our business to enhance how we deliver for our customers.”

TIACA shaping up for the future
At this year’s TIACA General Assembly get together in Budapest a series of executive working sessions will be held in order that TIACA can set the path for future innovations and challenges aimed at improving so called ‘cross-discipline’ collaboration.
TIACA, which will be steered by a new management under Steven Polman’s guidance, is working hard to determine the future of the association in order to become more effective for the industry and to install confidence in its members.
In a recent statement TIACA made it clear that there are members who are only active in one part of the logistical chain, but are often not aware of the issues and problems being faced by other stakeholders. The aim of one of the workshops at the TIACA conference is to try and bring different players from each section of the supply chain together in order for them to exchange views and ideas and explore new opportunities. Not an easy task - and one which will only be fruitful if all members play a role - no matter how small or large.
TIACA’s Secretary General, Vladimir Zubkov stated that: “it is important for individual members who are active in the same area to innovate the way they collaborate, to discuss and solve industry specific topics - that’s why we organize these specialized sessions.”