SHORT SHOTS

IN BRIEF - THE LATEST AIR CARGO INDUSTRY NEWS

SF Airlines gets U.S.-China approval
Shenzhen, China-based SF Airlines who continues to expand services within China and South-East Asia, has now also secured U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) approval to operate cargo services between the U.S. and China. The so called ‘exemption request’ was filed with the U.S. authorities some months ago. It was not clear whether the present trade unrest between both countries could maybe have led to a negative decision.
SF Airlines has plans to operate three weekly B747-400F flights between the Chinese city of Hangzhou and New York (JFK). The DOT authorization will now allow SF Airlines to carry out cargo operations between both countries and onto other points outside of the USA. The approval is presently for a twelve-month period and ends on December 4th, 2020.

Fraport November cargo figures down again
Passengers up - cargo down! This has been the Fraport Group message during the past months. Fraport, the owner of Frankfurt Airport and shareholder in many other airport operations around the world, has published their November figures which again show a decline in cargo throughput at Frankfurt Airport.
A total of 186,670 metric tons were handled at the airport in November. This represents a -5% drop compared to November of last year. Year-to-date figures record a -3.6% drop in cargo handled. From January to November this totaled just over 1.95 million tons. Passenger figures at FRA also suffered in November, dropping to 5.1 million - a -3-4% decrease. Fraport attribute a large percentage of this decrease to the two-day Lufthansa cabin staff strike during the month.
In other news, Fraport USA, the American daughter company of Fraport, has won the contract for the management of the Terminal B at New York’s Newark Airport. The contract, which is between Fraport USA and the airport operator PANYNJ, will run for a period of five years. 

Cargojet gets wet lease deal OK
The Hamilton, Ontario-based cargo operator Cargojet which operates a fleet of 23 aircraft has gained approval from the Canadian Transport Authority (CTA) to wet-lease a B767-200 freighter from U.S. operator 21 Air. The lease which runs for a period of almost four weeks commenced on December 1st and ends on December 24th. Cargojet needs the extra capacity in order to cope with the added demand during the Christmas peak season. The permit issued by the CTA forbids any form of revenue-sharing between both airlines on the sectors flown by the 21 Air aircraft.
Cargojet have thirteen of their own B767Fs in operation with a further two converted aircraft expected to join the fleet in the near future.

Western Global and Flexport reach agreement
The ongoing dispute between Florida-based Western Global Airlines and Flexport may well soon come to an end. Both companies agreed a few weeks ago that the dispute should be handled by a private mediator in the hope that a settlement can be reached which will be agreeable to both companies.
We reported during July of this year that Flexport had filed a lawsuit in the USA against Western Global, claiming that the carrier had not met the terms of contract by failing to provide the proper aircraft for the contracted services between Los Angeles and Hong Kong. Flexport state that this service was meant to be operated with a B747-400 freighter, but due to continued mechanical problems, was replaced by one of Western Global’s MD-11 freighters.
Flexport abruptly ended the contract and switched over to Atlas Air who provided them with a B747F for the service. Mediation of the dispute started in San Francisco on December 12th and it is hoped that both companies will come to terms.

Kerry Logistics strengthens Middle East presence
Hong Kong-based Kerry Logistics has expanded their Middle East presence by opening a new office in Bahrain as well as a new logistics facility in Dubai.
With the addition of Bahrain, Kerry Logistics now has operations in 55 countries. The Bahrain office will concentrate on logistics services in the oil & gas, automotive, electronics & technology, and fashions & lifestyle sectors. These will include customs clearance and warehousing services for air, ocean and road services.
Kerry’s new Dubai facility commenced operations as of early December. The warehouse is located almost next to Dubai Al Maktoum International Airport and has a total area of almost 8,000 square metres which is mainly dedicated to the handling of e-commerce shipments and for electronics & technology clients.
Kerry Logistics recently also won the Junzi Corporation Award which is presented by Hong Kong’s Hang Seng University. It was stated that the award ‘recognizes Kerry Logistics resolute adherence to the highest standards of business ethics.’ 

LATAM Cargo gets third BCF
It is just two years ago that the LATAM Cargo Group decided to cease B777F cargo operations and standardize their cargo fleet exclusively with the Boeing 767 freighter. Three of LATAM’s own passenger B767-300s have in the meantime been converted by Boeing into freighters for LATAM’s use.
With the delivery almost two weeks ago of LATAM Cargo’s last converted B767-300BCF, the carrier now operates an exclusive B767F fleet which totals eleven aircraft. The latest addition has been assigned to LATAM Cargo Colombia and operated its maiden flight on December 7th on LATAM’s Miami-Bogota-Miami route.
 On arrival of the latest freighter, LATAM Cargo Group CEO, Andrés Bianchi commented: “adding this last Boeing 767BCF is a major milestone for the LATAM Cargo Group, as we now have a fleet that is 100% compatible with our strategy and the reality of the markets we serve.” He also does not rule out the possibility that the carrier may consider converting more of their passenger aircraft into freighters in the future.

John Mc Donagh

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